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Article published Mar 25, 2004
Study: Democrats outraise Republicans in 2002 election
JENNIFER HOLLAND
Associated Press
COLUMBIA -- It pays to be the political party in power.South Carolina Democrats, who were led by an incumbent governor, raised more money than Republicans for the 2002 election, according to study released Thursday by a government watchdog group.But it may be tough to hold that pace this year since Democrats lost their key advantage to draw in cash when Gov. Jim Hodges was ousted, said Derek Willis, author of the report for the Center for Public Integrity.Of the nearly $5.2 million raised by state political party and caucus committees, more than half went to Democrats, who ended up with little to show for it, according to the report.It was a trend seen across the Southeast, said Willis, whose Washington, D.C.-based group analyzed data reported by state agencies, political party and caucus committees from all 50 states.The reports do not include money transferred by national party committees to the South Carolina Democratic and Republican parties.State law doesn't require those funds to be publicly disclosed, but that will change next year.Attorneys, teacher unions and beverage companies sent more of their money to South Carolina Democrats, while pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies, along with telephone utilities donated more to the GOP, according to the report.Most of the donations were from out of state, which is common for a smaller state like South Carolina, Willis said.The top contributing organizations, such as Duke Energy Corp., Association of Trial Lawyers of America, BellSouth Corp. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, split their donations 50-50 as a way to say they're "friends with everybody," Willis said.The money in South Carolina may shift more to the right now that Republicans control the governor's office, several statewide offices and the Legislature, Willis said."If I were a Democratic Party official, I'd be concerned the money might go elsewhere," he said.Democrats say they have energized their party following the high profile, first-in-the-South Democratic presidential primary in February.Nu Wexler of the state Democratic Party said the Democrats will be financially competitive this year. "They'll have all the resources they need in order to win," Wexler said.Luke Byars, executive director of the state Republican Party, said the parade of Democratic presidential hopefuls was one of the biggest fund-raising tools for the GOP."There is nothing that fires up South Carolina Republicans more," Byars said.An open race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., will draw a lot of money to the state, Byars said.The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization that conducts investigative research and reporting on public policy issues in the United States and around the