WASHINGTON – In its most active month of the two-year election cycle, CUNA reported yesterday it made a total of 99 campaign contributions in June for a total of more than $175,000.
Among last moth’s contributions were a $5,000 donation to second-term Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph Sestak, who CUNA helped get elected to Congress but opposed his ultimately successful bid to topple long-time Sen. Arlen Specter in May’s Democratic primary.
CUNA also made contributions to: Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is in a tough primary battle of his own ($2,500); New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, also in a tough race ($3,500); Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat Connecticut attorney general favored to succeed the retiring Chris Dodd in the Senate ($5,000); Rand Paul, the Republican candidate for the Kentucky Senate seat ($5,000); and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the Texas Republican who led the fight against the credit union-opposed bank reform bill ($2,000).
CUNA also made contributions to two so-called leadership PACs, including Patriot PAC, a campaign committee dedicated to defeating candidates from the fringe Tea Party ($5,000); and Continuing a Majority Party Action Committee, operated by Rep. David Camp, R-Mich. ($5,000).
CUNA’s PAC, known as CU Legislative Action Council, raised $203,000 last month and spent, $176,000, leaving it with an all-time high of $1.1 million in cash going into the final months of the mid-term elections. CULAC has spent almost $2 million in the first 18 months of the two-year election cycle, ranking it among the top 20 PACs in Washington.
