Assignment 3.2.

6: Campaign Finance As I read The Constitution and Campaign Finance Reform, I was surprised by some of the talking points. A few topics that Sullivan and Cressman discussed were unexpected, but very thought-provoking. I was also interested in how much my congressional districts representatives raised, spent, and disclosed to the public. For Democrat Dave Loebsack in Iowas District 2, he raised $1, 079,033, but spent only $281, 617. John Archer, a Republican, on the other hand, only raised $326,024 and spent $262,466 of it. Loebsacks finances do not seem alarming or excessive to me, considering that the average is about twice as much. While campaigning, there is so much to pay for, and that explains the few thousand that he has already spent. Its also somewhat comforting to know that he has saved a majority of the money; hopefully he will use it wisely while in office. Loebsacks campaign received $36,685, or 13%, from out-of-state donors. Out-of-state groups wouldnt have too much of an interest in this campaign because Iowas congressional representation is not as important as that of other states. While Iowa is an important state in the presidential election, it is not as influential of a state in Congress. For Leobsack, $639,763, or 59%, of his fundraising stemmed from PAC contributions. The majority of it came from those involving business and labor, comprising 78% of the donations. These traditionally support the Democratic representative.