Correction: A chart in Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about family members, employees and political action committees donating to Arkansas’ 2014 U.S. Senate race should have made clearer that $28,500 in contributions from employees of LISA Academy of Little Rock and North Little Rock did not include gifts from the school itself. Federal Election Commission records show the donors, who all gave to incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor, are listed as: Cuneyt Akdemir, (former) principal; Sefa Fidan, educator; Annamyrat Gulberdiyev, educator; Ibrahim Soykan, educator; Muhammad Fatih Bogrek, principal.
Members of two of Arkansas' wealthiest families -- Stephens in Little Rock and Murphy in El Dorado -- are among the largest contributors so far to the state's nationally important U.S. Senate contest between Democrat Mark Pryor and Republican Tom Cotton.
Stephens family members in Little Rock, employees and the political action committee of finance giant Stephens Inc. are listed among donations totaling $96,850 to Cotton, a first-term congressman, according to Federal Election Commission campaign finance records.
Members of the extended Murphy clan, Murphy Oil Co.'s political action committee and employees split $97,450 roughly 2-to-1 between the two candidates, records show. They gave $62,000 to Cotton and $35,450 to Pryor, the incumbent U.S. senator.
Marked by contentious, seemingly constant television ads, Arkansas' Senate race has drawn national attention because it will help decide which party controls the U.S. Senate for the next two years. The contest also is expected to rank among the nation's most expensive.
Members of a Texas-based law firm have contributed more than any other business group to Pryor's campaign so far, FEC records show. Attorneys with Nix Patterson & Roach LLP of Daingerfield, Texas, have given $50,200 to the incumbent. The firm has won multimillion-dollar class-action judgments nationwide and has an office in Texarkana, Texas.
The nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. -- based in Bentonville -- its employees, political action committees and Arvest Bank chairman Jim Walton's family have almost evenly divided more than $50,000 in gifts between the two candidates.
Because federal law limits an individual's direct campaign contributions to $2,600 per person per election cycle, big businesses and wealthy families often pool gifts, formally or informally.
In the case of the Stephens family and businesses, the donations involve individual decisions, a Stephens Inc. spokesman said.
Company chief executive Warren Stephens "does support Tom Cotton," spokesman Frank Thomas wrote in response to questions from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "Individuals that work here are free to support whomever they choose in political races. Their donations reflect their individual choice of whom they think is the best candidate."
Thomas noted that more than $25,000 in donations connected to the Stephens family came from individuals or family members not associated with Stephens Inc. And more than $50,000 was contributed in early 2013, before Cotton formally declared his intention to run for the Senate, he said.
Madison Murphy, chairman of the board of Murphy USA Inc. in El Dorado, has contributed to both Senate candidates, federal campaign contribution records show. Several other family members and Murphy Oil Corp.'s political action committee have done the same. He says he can't speak to how other family members made their decisions.
"I have long-standing relationships with both [candidates]. I've known Mark for years and Tom is our congressman," Murphy said last week. "It costs a lot to run a campaign."
Nix Patterson & Roach attorneys did not return the newspaper's phone calls and emailed requests for interviews.
Murphy and the Stephens Inc. spokesmen declined to say more about their contributions.
Compiling contributions
The Democrat-Gazette reviewed FEC records of more than 12,000 itemized, individual donations to the two candidates made between Jan. 1, 2013, and June 30 of this year. Those are the most recent records available.
Pryor's campaign reported receiving $8 million during the 18-month period; Cotton's campaign, a little more than $7 million.
New finance disclosure reports for 2014's third quarter are due Oct. 15. The general election is Nov. 4.
The contribution totals include donations that passed through independent political action committees, which raise money from donors and hand the funds to candidates. These groups, known as super PACs, were created about four years ago and have played active roles in both campaigns.
More than $300,000 in contributions to Cotton were marked as passing through a super PAC titled Club for Growth in Washington, D.C. The club describes itself as a network of "pro-growth, limited government Americans who share in the belief that prosperity and opportunity come from economic freedom."
ActBlue of Somerville, Mass., a conduit for funding for Democrats, has funneled donor contributions to Pryor of more than $225,000, records show. ActBlue describes itself as a funding pathway, "an online toolset that makes it easy for donors to connect with the candidates and causes they support."
The campaign numbers examined by the newspaper don't include millions spent by nonprofits -- so-called "dark money" groups -- that don't report donors and whose spending is difficult to track.
Much of that money goes to advertising that is supposed to educate voters about issues, yet function independently of the campaigns. These groups usually produce TV spots that suggest voters call a candidate with a particular message, but don't directly ask for votes.
Expensive to run
On average, a winning candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 2012 spent about $11.5 million, according to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C.
The winner's tab in the Pryor-Cotton race probably will climb higher, said Russ Choma, money-in-politics reporter for the nonpartisan, nonprofit research center.
Federal campaign-finance laws limit individual gifts to $2,600 per election cycle, which would be a maximum of $5,200 in the Pryor-Cotton race. Corporations aren't allowed to contribute directly to federal races at all, though they can give through their political action committees.
The daily grind of fundraising means candidates welcome donors who can offer maximum contributions from several sources, experts say.
"That donor can say, 'I have $5,200, so do my wife and my daughter, and I'm the CEO of a company where members of the board will give, too. So here's $25,000,'" Choma said. "That saves the campaign time. And the donor gets an ear, gets attention that he hopes to translate into access and influence."
The Democrat-Gazette's review of federal campaign data identified at least 18 groups -- families, employees and political action committees connected to related companies -- that already have given at least $25,000 to Cotton, Pryor or both.
Nine of those groups gave to Cotton. They include three national or international finance firms.
Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs Group and billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Management Corp. hedge fund, both in New York, gave more than $40,000 each to Cotton through employees and PACs. Contributors connected with Citadel Investment Group of Chicago, a financial company and hedge fund, donated more than $30,000.
Executives, employees and family members with Koch Industries Inc., the nation's second-largest privately held company, have given $36,200 to Cotton, records show. The leaders of the Wichita, Kan.-based manufacturing conglomerate are widely known for supporting conservative causes.
Asked about the relationship between candidates and big donors, Cotton campaign spokesman David Ray didn't directly address the issue. He talked about the campaign's pride at "the support of thousands and thousands of Arkansans."
Law firms, a major shipper and communication corporations were among the Pryor campaign's biggest contributor groups, according to FEC records.
The Simmons Law Firm in Alton, Ill., which specializes in mesothelioma- or asbestos-related lawsuits, was Pryor's second-largest donor group. Simmons partners and employees gave $48,800. FedEx Corp. of Memphis employees and political action committee have donated $40,950.
Employees and committees of Time Warner Cable of New York have contributed $28,500; Comcast Corp. of Philadelphia, $26,550.
Asked about the Pryor campaign's relationship with large donors, spokesman Erik Dorey said, "No one, not an individual or an organization, can spend a dime to support Mark Pryor that can influence his votes."
SundayMonday on 09/28/2014