Time for Akin to PAC it in!

Funding is such a critical part of the election process, yet it the candidates remain “hush hush” on the topic. The main news story regarding funding in the Missouri senate elections was on Akin’s loss of funding. GOP members separated themselves from Akin after the campaign fearing Romney and other Republicans would be associated with and suffer from his controversial comments. Senate GOP leaders pulled funds and pressed Akin to withdraw from the race₁. Akin quickly went from being a sure win in a Republican state to a party casualty. He continued the race with low funding.

Image courtesy of the Saint Louis Dispatch Daily

Overall, Akin raised about a quarter of what McCaskill did. Akin raised $4,609,609 while McCaskill raised $19,452,464. 89% of Akins funding came from individual contributers and only 10% from PACs. McCaskill received 76% of her funding from individual contributions and 15% from PACs.

McCaskill’s largest contributor is EMILYs List, a political action committee that supports female democratic candidates, like McCaskill. They avoided the laws limiting PAC contributions through endorsing individual member contributions. Her other major contributor was law firms – not surprising since she once worked for a law firm herself. Although McCaskill raised a much larger sum of money than Akin, it seems fairly clean.

Akin’s top 5 contributers are all American corporations. Two of the top contributors, Emerson and Murray Energy, are energy companies. It is common to see these sorts of business siding with Republican candidates because Republicans typically favor corporate interests, especially regarding natural resources.

Throughout the campaign there were many indications that McCaskill had more funding than Akin to work with. I counted only 8 political ads from Akin on his official website and over 30 advertisements on McCaskill’s. Having four times the funding allowed Claire to get her message out there. Most of her ads were based on Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment. Political ads are effective at targeting voters who do not follow the news, so having more funding allowed McCaskill to get her message out there. Her daughter, Maddie, said, “We were afraid the media wouldn't report the full quote”₂. The media definitely were drawn to the story and it made Akin nationally infamous. McCaskill’s advantage in funding allowed her to remind voters of Akin’s remark and show how hurtful it was to many individuals. Akin’s campaign suffered as he did not have the contributions that allowed for the same amount of mudslinging in return.

1. Henderson, N. & Kane, P. (2012). Todd Akin rape comments prompt GOP to pull campaign funding, calls to exit race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-todd-akins-rape-comments-abortion-is-back-inthe-campaign-spotlight/2012/08/20/c497bae4-eac7-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html
2. Stoeffel, K. (2012). Claire McCaskill’s Stylish Daughters Talk Todd Akin, Huntsman Girls, and More. NY Mag: The Cut. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/11/claire-mccaskills-stylish-daughters-also-lovely.html

 Works Cited

Akin, T. (2012). Campaign Media. Todd Akin for Senate. Retrieved from http://www.akin.org/updates/media

Henderson, N. & Kane, P. (2012). Todd Akin rape comments prompt GOP to pull campaign funding, calls to exit race. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-todd-akins-rape-comments-abortion-is-back-inthe-campaign-spotlight/2012/08/20/c497bae4-eac7-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html

McCaskill, C. (2012). Videos. Claire McCaskill for US Senate. Retrieved from http://clairemccaskill.com/updates/videos

On a big-time stage [Photo]. (2009). Saint Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved from http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/on-a-big-time-stage-mccaskill-welcomes-obama/article_ee6c7904-cfe3-5575-81a8-357464ea0e15.html 

Open Secrets. (2012). Claire McCaskill: Campaign Finance/Money – Summary – Senator 2012. Politicians & Elections. Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00027694

Open Secrets. (2012). Todd Akin: Campaign Finance/Money – Summary – Representative 2012. Politicians & Elections. Retrieved from https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00027694

Stoeffel, K. (2012). Claire McCaskill’s Stylish Daughters Talk Todd Akin, Huntsman Girls, and More. NY Mag: The Cut. Retrieved from http://nymag.com/thecut/2012/11/claire-mccaskills-stylish-daughters-also-lovely.html