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Staff writer Ryan Teague Beckwith and news researchers Denise Jones and David Raynor contributed to this report.
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HOW THE NEW DONATIONS ARE DIFFERENT
A recent court decision has opened the gates to unlimited political contributions by individuals to committees that support or oppose specific candidates. These are known as independent expenditure committees because they can not give to, or work in coordination with, a particular candidate.
There are two other kinds of political committees operating in North Carolina. The one most people know about is a candidate's campaign committee, which can accept no more than $4,000 from individual contributors and PACs per election to help elect that candidate.
The other is known as an issue advocacy committee, commonly referred to as a 527 organization, which can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals and corporations for television ads and other efforts to promote certain stands. These committees are not allowed to expressly support or oppose a candidate, but they often run advertising that makes reference to specific candidates.
BIGGEST DONORS ARE OUT OF STATE
Here are the major contributors to the Republican Governors Association's North Carolina 2008 Political Action Committee:
James L. Barksdale, Ridgeland, Miss.; former CEO of Netscape, $100,000
Gary Heavin, Waco, Texas; CEO, Curves International; $50,000
Bruce Rauner, Winnetka, Ill.; chairman of GTCR Golden Rauner LLC., a private equity and venture capital firm, $50,000
Cliff Asness, New York; managing and founding principal of AQR Capital, an investment management firm, $25,000
Peter H. Coors, Golden, Colo.; chairman, Coors Brewing Co., $25,000
Mike Cottrell, Dahlonega, Ga.; chairman and CEO of Cottrell, Inc., a maker of car hauling trailers, $25,000
Dan L. Crippen, Bethesda, Md.; a consultant for health care company Schaller Anderson and a former Congressional Budget Office director, $25,000
Philip H. Geier, New York; chairman, The Geier Group, a marketing, communications and venture capital consulting firm, $25,000
Ronald J. Gidwitz, Chicago; a co-founder of GCG Partners, a consulting and capital equity firm, $25,000
Stanley S. Hubbard, St. Paul, Minn.; CEO of Hubbard Broadcasting, a TV and radio station company; $10,000
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Crippen is an economic adviser to Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office.He said he is a longtime supporter of the association and its mission and did not disagree with how his contribution is being spent."I gave it to the RGA to do with it what they thought best," Crippen said.Schrimpf said contributors are not told where their money will go beyond the association's general mission of helping Republicans get elected in gubernatorial contests. He said no efforts are made to promote contributors' business interests.Politico, an online news organization devoted to politics, reported last week that the Republican Governors Association was on track to raise a record-breaking $30 million for political campaigns this year. The Republican association had nearly $21 million cash in hand.So far, the Republican PAC has not spent money in the governor's race. North Carolina is one of a handful of states with competitive gubernatorial races that the association has said it would deploy campaign money.Unaware of groupHudson, McCrory's campaign manager, said he did not become aware of the PAC until The News & Observer informed him of it Wednesday."We, by law, are not allowed to know what they are up to and we don't try to find out," Hudson said.He said Perdue can expect unions and other special interests that have donated big money to the N.C. Democratic Party to help her campaign.The Teamsters' PAC has contributed $31,000 to the N.C. Democratic Party, filings show. The Democratic Governors Association has chipped in $112,000 for the state party, the filings say. There is no limit on contributions to state political parties.(Staff writer Ryan Teague Beckwith and news researchers Denise Jones and David Raynor contributed to this report.)
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