Oct. 2, 2006
Don’t Buy into High-Priced Campaigns
By Chris Heagarty
RALEIGH - “You just can’t buy a new car for less than $50,000!” said the luxury car salesman.
“You just can’t be safe buying this piece of electronic merchandise, unless you buy the special extended warranty that costs as much as the product itself!” said the pushy salesperson at the electronics superstore.
How many times have you heard claims like these? Do you, like most people, dismiss them? Why do we dismiss them? Because we know the person making the claim has a vested interest. They are making this representation because it benefits them, not us.
Sure you can get a nice car for over $50,000. Every now and then those extended warranties do come in handy, especially if you’ve got small children in the house.
However, there are plenty of us who drive less expensive cars and are perfectly happy. A lot of us pass on the extended warranty offers and do just fine.
So why is it when there’s a question about how much a judicial race should cost, the media go straight to the campaign consultants?
“One million dollars!” they cry. “You just can’t get your name out for less than that! Anything less than a million dollars is a crapshoot!”
Oh, really? It’s time to follow the money.
No one will deny that it can cost a lot to run a good campaign. Why? Because candidates rely more on professional campaign services than they did in the past. What had once been highly skilled, well-oiled volunteer efforts are contracted out to highly paid political consultants. And why not? They are good at what they do, for the most part, and their skills are in high demand.
But asking a campaign consultant how much money a campaign needs is like asking a lawyer, “How many hours can you bill?” The answer is, “How much money do you have?”
A number of campaign consultants have come out recently and attacked the Public Campaign Fund for judges, which provides appellate-level judicial candidates with matching funds if they refuse to take PAC money or large contributions from special interest groups. The consultants say that because the candidates agree to limit their spending, and are capped at less than a million dollars, that they don’t get enough money to win.
Not only is that hogwash, but it is particularly offensive when many of them have run campaigns for these offices spending far less than a million dollars. Were those races a crapshoot, too? If so, then shouldn’t those candidates get those expensive consulting fees back.
Let’s take for example the N.C. Court of Appeals. The Public Campaign Fund provides candidates who participate with an initial amount of $144,500. If they are attacked by special interest groups or by a big-spending candidate not in the program, they can qualify for more money, up to $433,500. The consultants say that’s not enough.
So, let’s look at the candidates who actually run for office, and win. We’ve analyzed the campaign reports of the current N.C. Court of Appeals. Guess what? The average amount spent to win their election? It’s only $108,987.
So the Public Campaign Fund is giving these candidates at least 50 percent more, and up to 400 percent more, than the campaigns that were winning elections before the program was created.
The state Supreme Court? Candidates can get at least $211,050 in their initial grant, and up to between $630,000 and $650,000 in total matching funds. The average amount spent by the justices already on the Supreme Court? Only $195,486.
“Foul!” the consultants will cry. “Those earlier races were partisan, and these are nonpartisan! You are comparing apples to oranges!”
I never saw where your party identification made the cost of stamps or television ads more or less expensive. Political parties still spend their own money in judicial politics. But, let’s consider their point. Is there any other comparison we can use?
We elect a fair number of other statewide officials. What do they spend? Winning candidates for governor spend millions for their seats. But that’s for the most important office in the state. What do other candidates raise?
Steve Troxler and Elaine Marshall, the commissioner of agriculture and the secretary of state, respectively, each spent about $350,000. Auditor Les Merritt spent just over $225,000. Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson spent just over $160,000.
These may not have been Cadillac campaigns, with hourly Madison Avenue quality TV commercials, but like an old Ford truck, they seemed to get the job done.
“You can’t run for statewide office without spending a million dollars!” the campaign consultants say. What state do they live in?
Chris Heagarty is the executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education, a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.
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