GOP raids Democrats' donor list -

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7187927.html


Cornyn's effort is paying off for Senate campaign


Tony Podesta is one of the best-connected rainmakers in the nation's capital, with a web of personal contacts stretching back 42 years and six Democratic presidential candidates. His brother John was Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff and an adviser on President Barack Obama's transition team.

But in an uncharacteristic twist this year, people at Tony Podesta's powerhouse lobbying firm have chosen to donate $32,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee to help its chairman, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, wrest control of the Senate from the Democrats.

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"We're seeing a shift from Democrats to Republicans because Wall Street and corporations see the political environment more conducive to the election of Republicans," says Anthony Corrado Jr., a campaign finance scholar at Colby College in Maine. "These donors are looking at the prospect of Republican majority and hedging their bets."

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The San Antonio Republican's efforts have paid off handsomely. The Texan's team has managed to persuade roughly 26 percent of the 478 active political action committees that donated to the DSCC in 2008 to reduce or eliminate donations this year.

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Still, Senate Democrats retain some key advantages, raising 8 percent more than the NRSC so far and retaining an edge in cash on hand as of July 31. Despite some donors' hedging, Democrats have expanded the number of PACs on their donor list and have raised 30 percent more from PACs than the GOP.

And Democrats have raided the Republican fundraising list, too, persuading 93 GOP-aligned PACs to give to them, too.
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