Superior fundraising did not necessarily lead to electoralvictory for West Virginia's U.S. House candidates, the latestFederal Election Commission filings show.
Democrat Mike Oliverio attracted $525,110 more from individualsthan the GOP's David McKinley in the 1st Congressional Districtrace. A state senator from Monongalia County, Oliverio also out-raised McKinley during the final 20 days of their campaigns by$56,425.
In the 3rd District's contest, Republican Elliott "Spike" Maynardbested incumbent Rep. Nick Rahall, a Democrat, among individualdonors by $432,150. Their post-general reports show that trendcontinued between Oct. 14 and the election. Maynard, a formerDemocrat and state Supreme Court justice, received $52,830 more thanRahall in these contributions during that time.
But McKinley and Rahall both won on Nov. 2. Securing an 18thterm, Rahall beat Maynard by 12.1 percentage points, 56 percent to44 percent, in a 17-county district that includes the state'ssouthern coalfields, according to official results from thesecretary of state's office.
The race for the open seat in the northern, 20-county 1stDistrict was much closer. McKinley, a former legislator and stateGOP chair, edged out Oliverio by less than a percentage point, or1,440 votes. McKinley will succeed Rep. Alan Mollohan, defeated byOliverio in their party's May primary.
McKinley, who runs his own architecture and design firm, hadpumped $770,000 of his own money into his effort. All but $100,000of that were loans to his campaign.
Rahall, meanwhile, started his race with a $1.3 million campaignbalance. He also attracted $625,218 more than Maynard from politicalaction committees. PACs had given slightly more to Oliverio thanMcKinley in their race, $260,325 to $235,600.
The exception to the fundraising trend was in the 2ndCongressional District. There, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito dominatedpolitical newcomer Virginia Lynch Graf in both campaign cash andvotes.
A Democrat, Graf raised just $25,646 to Capito's $1.5 million intheir race. The Republican incumbent secured a sixth term with morethan 68 percent of the Nov. 2 vote. Phil Hudok of the ConstitutionParty also appeared on the ballot, but did not raise or spend enoughto trigger FEC filings.
The funds raised by West Virginia's congressional candidates intheir races' final weeks largely reflected the array of interestgroups that had contributed campaign cash throughout the electioncycle.
Oliverio, a life insurance agent, amassed funds from his area andothers within the financial services sector, including banks.Physicians and other health professionals were among his majorcontributors, as were coal and natural gas interests and Democraticleadership PACs.
Act Blue, a Democratic group, served as a conduit for at least$110,000 contributed to Oliverio including $76,652 during the latestfiling period. Donors during that period included former two-termGov. Gaston Caperton.
McKinley benefited from Republican-aligned PACS as well as healthprofessionals and the construction industry. The son, grandson andother family members of H. Ross Perot, the Texas-based billionaireand 1990s presidential candidate, gave his campaign around $7,500.Entertainer Hank Williams Jr. contributed $1,000.
Massey Energy Co. contributed $2,000 each to both McKinley andfellow Republican Maynard through its PAC during the electioncampaign's final days. Massey chief executive Don Blankenship, whorecently announced his plans to leave the Virginia-based coalproducer, gave McKinley $2,400 during that time.
Blankenship contributed the maximum amount for an individual,$4,800, to both McKinley and Maynard during the election cycle.Executive and family members from Massey, its subsidiaries andvendors proved a key source of funding for Maynard's campaign. SarahPalin's PAC contributed $1,500 during the filing period, for a totalof $5,000 during the cycle.
With coal a leading industry in the district and a major topic ofthe campaign, Rahall lagged behind Maynard for contributions fromthat area during the race. Exceptions included coal executive ChrisCline, who gave Rahall $500 during the filing period.
Democratic leaders and labor unions were a significant source ofRahall's PAC funds. So was the transportation sector. Rahall isexpected to become the ranking member of the House committee focusedon that subject. Several native American tribes also contributed atotal of $5,000 to Rahall during the filing period.
After each prevailed in a contested primary, Rahall reportedspending $1.6 million and Maynard, $907,300, on their race. Outsidegroups devoted around $1.6 million to their contest, with all but$400,000 of that spent supporting Maynard or attacking Rahall.
After outspending Maynard, Rahall sported a $488,150 campaignbalance as of Nov. 22. Maynard reported a negative balance.
While Oliverio had upset Mollohan, McKinley prevailed over fiveother Republicans to win their party's nomination. Oliverio andMcKinley each spent around $950,000 on the general election portionof their 1st District race.
But outside groups and the national parties had spent more than$3.1 million on their battle. Around 60 percent of that spendingbenefited McKinley.
His campaign had $86,500 left as of Nov. 22 to Oliverio's $3,368.
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