|
The way Nick Begich is funding his U.S. House campaign is entirely legal, and it’s not unusual. A lot of candidates loan money to their campaigns. But when they win, the results aren’t pretty. Money they had trouble raising before flows easily as special interests — or anyone who wants to curry favor with a member of Congress — line up to give.
Sorry if that sounds cynical. It’s true that many people give to campaigns because they like the candidate and think he or she will represent them well.
But there’s also a lot of strategic giving in federal races. You can think of those contributions as investments, or bets. Lobbyists and corporate executives ante up and hope their candidate will win and be in a position to help them later.
There’s a risk-free investment they can make, though, and that’s to ante up AFTER the candidate has already won.
Begich and other self-lenders are in essence taking the risk so their contributors don’t have to. A campaign loan offers special interests a chance to win gratitude by paying off a personal financial loss that the candidate would otherwise get stuck with. As the story below points out, this is one step removed from putting cash in a lawmaker’s pocket. It’s not illegal, but it doesn’t look good.
Maybe Begich intends to refuse post-election contributions. We don’t know. He didn’t respond to my questions. And he still hasn’t.
Saturday is the deadline to vote in the special election. If you’ve lost your ballot, don’t fret. You can vote in person at 170 sites across the state. If you do vote by mail, or if you put your mailed ballot in a dropbox, don’t forget to sign the envelope. You must also get a witness signature.
We’ll have the first results Saturday night.
Thanks for reading. Stay in touch. We’ve got a whole bunch more election to cover.
| 
