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Confronting the 527 factor
A major factor in this year’s U.S. Senate race, according to former Congressman Scott McInnis, R-Colo., will be the money 527 committees dump into advertising throughout Colorado.
McInnis, once a Senate candidate himself, said after Labor Day, he expects liberal 527s to start to mount attack on Republican Bob Schaffer who has performed well at recent debates with Democratic candidate Mark Udall.
“They’ll spend millions,” McInnis told Political Notebook. “It’s very unfortunate. That’s money that doesn’t have to be disclosed. Basically they can get away with very generous contributions (and) very limited disclosure.”
(Colorado law does require 527s to register and regularly disclose basic financial figures, but the regulations governing the political committees have yet to be tested in a general election cycle.)
McInnis used state Rep. Bernie Buescher’s most recent electoral contests as an example of the effect outside groups can have on an election. During the 2006 cycle, for example, 527s effectively crowded out the candidates’ own messages on TV and radio.
“My guess is the 527 in Colorado, if you could track it, on each side will spend a minimum of $5 million or more. … I think Colorado’s going to have a U.S. Senate race somewhere in the $15 (million) to $20 million range,” McInnis said.
*McInnis photo from The Daily Sentinel archives.
Comments
By Leslie Robinson
August 21, 2008 1:23 AM | Link to this
McInnis was quick to point fingers at one faction, but forgot to mention that 527’s work on both sides of the fence (aka the Right’s troubled Trailhead organization from 2004.) Maybe Political Notebook should seek other sources to give readers a balanced look at this election. Penry and McInnis aren’t the only kids on the block anymore.