Last Spring, Smart Politics explained how while the headline coming from the Federal Elections Commission Q1 2009 reports on the fundraising by Minnesota’s U.S. House delegation was that Republican Michele Bachmann outraised all of her Gopher State colleagues by nearly $100,000, the story beneath the headline was that Bachmann was building her campaign warchest not from the contributions of political action committees (PACs), but from ‘the people’ – individual contributors.

Now, for the second consecutive quarter, Representative Bachmann again demonstrates her significant grassroots appeal by leading the Minnesota U.S. House delegation in three key facets of campaign fundraising:

1) The most contributions received from individual donors,
2 )The largest percentage of contributions received from individual donors, and
3) The largest net amount and percentage of individual contributions received from small donors (those donating less than $200)

Although fellow Republican Erik Paulsen raised the most money among the Gopher State’s eight U.S. House Representatives from April through June of this year ($356,891, besting Rep. Bachmann by more than $71,000), the Congresswoman raised the most money from individual donors – by nearly $15,000 over Paulsen and more than $99,000 over DFLer Jim Oberstar, who came in third on this dimension of fundraising.

Q2 2009 Campaign Contributions by Individuals to Minnesota’s U.S. Representatives

Rank
Representative
Amount
1
Michele Bachmann
$232,220
2
Erik Paulsen
$217,651
3
Jim Oberstar
$132,907
4
John Kline
$125,231
5
Keith Ellison
$112,807
6
Tim Walz
$106,041
7
Collin Peterson
$50,525
8
Betty McCollum
$29,414

Source: FEC data.

In continuing to build her grassroots fundraising campaign, Representative Bachmann also received the largest percentage of campaign contributions from individuals among the state’s eight representatives. At 81.4 percent, Bachmann bested by one percentage point the proportion she raised from individuals in Q1 2009 (80.4 percent).

The Congresswoman thus received the lowest percentage of campaign receipts from PACs among the eight Gopher State U.S. Representatives, at just 18.6 percent of her total campaign contributions.

By comparison, Rep. Paulsen raised more than twice as large a percentage of his second quarter receipts from PACs as did Bachmann (38.8 percent), while DFLer Betty McCollum raised more than three times as large a percentage (56.7 percent), and DFLer Collin Peterson raised nearly four times as large a percentage (73.6 percent).

Q2 2009 Percentage of Individual vs. PAC Contributions to Minnesota’s U.S. Representatives

Rank
Representative
% Individuals
% PACs
1
Michele Bachmann
81.4
18.6
2
Keith Ellison
73.8
26.2
3
John Kline
65.7
34.3
4
Erik Paulsen
61.0
38.8
5
Tim Walz
58.9
40.5
6
Jim Oberstar
55.7
44.3
7
Betty McCollum
43.3
56.7
8
Collin Peterson
26.4
73.6

Note: FEC data compiled by Smart Politics. Walz and Paulsen also received 0.6 and 0.1 percent of their contributions from political party committees respectively.

It is not surprising that those Minnesota U.S. Representatives who have the longest tenure on Capitol Hill are also those who received the largest percentage of their contributions from PACs (Peterson, McCollum, and Oberstar).

However, even looking at the data within individual contributions, it is evident that Bachmann is mobilizing small donors at a greater clip than any other member of the Gopher State delegation.

Bachmann was the only member of the Minnesota U.S. House delegation to raise more than $100,000 from small donors ($101,245) in the second quarter of 2009. The Congresswoman raised 3.3 times more money from small donors than Erik Paulsen ($31,051), 4.4 times more than Tim Walz ($22,921), 4.8 times more than Collin Peterson ($21,174), 6.3 times more than John Kline ($15,956), 16.8 times more than Betty McCollum ($6,039), and 72 times more than Jim Oberstar ($1,407).

Only Keith Ellison, at $95,015, came close to approaching the kind of money raised by Bachmann from small donors.

Congresswoman Bachmann also raised the largest percentage of individual contributions from small donors, with 43.6 percent of such money raised in amounts of less than $200. Bachmann also led the Gopher State U.S. House delegation on this dimension in Q1 2009, with 31.8 percent.

Q2 2009 Small Donor Individual Contributions to Minnesota’s U.S. Representatives

Rank
Rep.
% Small Donors
% Large Donors
Small Donors
Large Donors
1
Michele Bachmann
43.6
56.4
$101,245
$130,975
2
Collin Peterson
41.9
58.1
$21,174
$29,351
3
Tim Walz
21.6
78.4
$22,921
$83,120
4
Betty McCollum
20.5
79.5
$6,039
$23,375
5
Keith Ellison
15.8
84.2
$95,015
$17,792
6
Erik Paulsen
14.3
85.7
$31,051
$186,600
7
John Kline
12.7
87.3
$15,956
$109,275
8
Jim Oberstar
1.1
98.9
$1,407
$131,500

Note: FEC data compiled by Smart Politics.

While Representative Bachmann gets called many names from Minnesotans on the political left who disagree with her conservative policy positions, this continuing pattern of FEC data demonstrates it cannot be said that Bachmann is raising her money by cozying up to the Washington “fat cats.”

The Congresswoman’s ability to raise money from individual citizens remains unparalleled among her current Gopher State U.S. House colleagues.

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9 Comments

  1. being goode on July 17, 2009 at 9:02 am

    Game over. This is how the Bachmann juggernaut rolls through the sixth.

    A majority of Bachmann’s support resides in places like: Elk River, Big Lake, Ramsey, Ham Lake, St. Michael and Andover.

    Evangelical Christians are the energy and passion that make this juggernaut roll. One only has to drive north on 35W and through her district to see one of their most important issues posted on the many billboards that follow the interstate.

    Also, this seat will likely be redistricted after 2010. Perhaps challengers might wait and see if the new district is more favorable.

  2. Paul Andersen on July 18, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Bachmann is attracting a lot of support from a diverse group of conservatives that include: Libertarian (Ron-Paulite), fiscal/economic, and socially conservative-minded persons.

    Suffice it to say, she also is becoming known as a person who doesn’t back down despite being lampooned repeatedly by the left…………..and this endears her to many of us (classical REAGAN conservatives) who feel that we are without a conservative leader!

    Oh, and I still have yet to make my yearly contribution……….:)

  3. being goode on July 20, 2009 at 6:38 am

    If history and fact serve me correctly. President Reagan was the one of the biggest of three republican presidential deficit spenders in history. Following him were Bush1 and Bush 2. Reagan clearly ignored good governance, such as paying the deficit down in good times.

    It is amazing how Reagan’s mythology has no relationship with the empirical evidence of his presidency.

    I supported Reagan while he was in office. I admire his accomplishments as president. But the facts are the facts. Ideology should not blindside someone to the point of ignorance.

  4. Tawny Jones on July 25, 2009 at 7:54 am

    Just goes to show: Michele represents the people. She is the voice we need in the loyal opposition. We don’t need anymore corporate bagmen, or shills who go along to get along.

  5. Davep on September 28, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    Michele is a true conservative and will always get my backing. Time to donate to the cause !

  6. bob conner on October 16, 2009 at 10:52 pm

    I’m from the lost state of California. I just contributed to Michele in hopes of keeping a reasonable voice in DC. GO get um Michele!!!!

  7. ma.patriot on October 18, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    Perhaps it would make for an interesting statistic to see how many donations come from outside the state! Her appeal is not just withing the confines of Minnesota, but to anyone who leans towards Conservatism. I’m from North Carolina, and I contributed to her re-election campaign. We need to keep good conservatives in the Congress. Congresswoman Bachmann has the stamina and zest for not only her own constituents but for everyday Americans.

    Bravo Ms. Bachmann!

  8. Joyce Wilson on October 19, 2009 at 1:43 am

    I thought all hope was gone till I heard her speak .This is a girl after my own heart.. It was nice to hear someone say I am for the people and the constitution..( LET GET BACK TO THE CONSTITUTION AND AWAY FROM THIS PROGRESSIVE SOCIALISM..) I WILL BE DONATING SOON. BY THE WAY I AM FROM WV. AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES SUCK..

  9. Sandy Orton on October 21, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    I think that Mrs. Bachmann is the type of politician that we need in Washington. I believe that if we had more like her, we would not be in the situation that we are now, becoming more and more like Europe everyday. The only rich people that will be left in this country once Obama is done are those in the White House and those in Congress, sad isn’t it. I would really like to see Mrs. Bachmann run for president, but for now I will be sending her a donation to get her re-elected in Minnesota. GO MICHELE!!!

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