Mikulski campaign a consultant's dream
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's re-election campaigns have been bonanzas for political consultants, and this year's edition is proving to be no exception.
The veteran Democrat never figured to attract a formidable challenger--and she didn't--but she's continued to raise and spend campaign money at a healthy clip.
In the second quarter of this year, she dropped nearly a quarter of a million bucks on a handful of consultants. (Note: An earlier version of this post erroneously confused Ann Lewis, a former Mikulski aide who did not receive a payment from the campaign, with Anne Lewis, who got $22,000 for media consulting).
Mikulski spent more than $105,000 just on direct mail, according to her latest financial disclosure report, filed this week with the Federal Election Commission.
Top-flight DC-based mail consultants Hal Malchow and Rich Schlackman's firm got more than $102,000 of that sum.
Fundraising consultants sopped up another $66,688, including Colleen Martin-Lauer of Baltimore, who received $22,145.
Taking nothing for granted, Mikulski paid $35,000 to the firm headed by Democratic pollsters Geoffrey Garin, Peter D. Hart and Frederick Yang for an in-depth fix on the pulse of the Maryland electorate.
By contrast, Eric Wargotz, a wealthy physician and the Republican Party's likely cannon fodder against Mikulski in the fall, loaned his campaign a half-million dollars and has been spending money faster than he's taking in. His total expenditures for the second quarter fell short of the amount that Mikulski spent on direct mail alone.
Again, these figures are just for the three-month period between April 1 and June 30.
To date, Mikulski has spent almost $2 million, has about $3 million left in the bank and is continuing to collect contributions. That should provide many more happy paydays for her consultants over the final five months of the campaign.
Comments
There is zero chance that Mikulski will lose. Therefore, is it appropriate for someone who claims to care so much about the little people to spend so much money on a campaign in which the result is already known at a time when millions of Americans are hurting?
Posted by: Eli | July 16, 2010 1:39 PM
Is it me or is this tune just getting old. Money, money, money! Thing have not changed much since this tune was popular.
It's still the same ole, same ole. When I tried to get some help from her office, I found out her staff was at a rally for illegal immigrants. I never did hear from her office.
Enough of the libs already!
Posted by: Buzz Beeler | July 16, 2010 2:01 PM
Babs is joke...how anyone can vote for her and sleep at night sickens me. She hasn't done a thing for the people she "represents" in years...Someone, anyone, would be a blessing to run this old dog and her "San Francisco politics" the he11 out of town.
Posted by: Verno | July 16, 2010 2:53 PM
It is so nice that Barbara Mikulski has found such a nice "job." To bad term limitations can't be implemented. This was and is not supposed to be a life-long endeavor.
Posted by: BMAC1206 | July 16, 2010 2:59 PM
What do you expect? She sends billions to isreal while Americans live in the street Zion f america is the tune over 90% of our elected leaders sing. In any other country it's treason.
Miller
US Army Retired
Posted by: Ern | July 16, 2010 3:01 PM
If she was relevant in any sense of the word this might be a big story. She's done nothing for her salary for the past how ever many worthless years she's been in office, so who really gives a rat's a$$!
Posted by: outtahere | July 16, 2010 3:13 PM
She should stop wasting her money. She's done.
Posted by: skuts | July 16, 2010 3:25 PM
"Republican's... cannon fodder" , all I can say is "we will see". Go Wargotz - smart, proven, fiscally responsible, conservative.
He has the potential along with our help, for a major upset in this US Senate Race.
Posted by: Steve | July 16, 2010 4:12 PM
This lady isn't getting another dime out of me. She and other prominent dems begged for money in late June trying to meet a goal of $20,000. She had probably raised over $500,000 by that time. What a joke.
Posted by: Arnie | July 16, 2010 6:45 PM
sad only the rich can run for office not the working man and women...the rich people's club. so much for sharing the wealth just as long as its not their wealth.
Posted by: blkthorn | July 16, 2010 8:08 PM
I'm glad to see the Sun got it right and named the only viable candidate out there....Dr. Eric Wargotz a proven legislator for 'We the People'.
www.wargotz.com
Posted by: ConradJ | July 17, 2010 10:10 AM
Martin O'Malley once worked for Barbara Mikulski and uses the same polling firm, Garin-Hart-Young. Is there any collusion between the campaigns with polling questions? (Namely, is Mikulski buying polls for O'Malley?)
Posted by: Questiner | July 19, 2010 12:00 PM
Whoever runs against her get my vote and if no one runs then I will leave the ballot with her name blank. The woman is good at talking out of both sides of her mouth. One day someone will step up and send her back home so she can make her neighborhood miserable and leve the rest of us with someone who care.
Posted by: RayRay | July 19, 2010 2:17 PM
Babs has outgrown her welcome in Maryland. She is in denial over her own serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging.
Since she has no one close enough to kindly point out this known fact, it is our job, as voters, to thank her and send her on her way to retirement. In the end, she will thank us for caring as the times, they are a changin.
Posted by: Carole | July 20, 2010 7:48 AM
Dick Morris just posted an evaluation of the 2010 Senate races and Barbara Mikulsky to "potentially vulnerable".
Another Democratic liberal topples to the tsumani of the public's revulsion with San Francisco politics.
Posted by: nickel | July 20, 2010 9:04 AM
nickel, Wikipedia's summary of predictions of U.S. Senate races still lists Maryland as one of four states rated as "Safe Democratic" by all eight of its pundits, including Rasmussen, CQ, Larry Sabato, and Rothenberg. Dick Morris's "potentially vulnerable" claim is a long way from "Safe Republican".
Posted by: hmpstd | July 20, 2010 3:53 PM