ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996 TAG: 9603190100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Virginians have given $2.4 million to national political parties for the 1996 presidential and congressional races.
The contributions were part of nearly $59 million given to the Republican and Democratic parties last year, according to the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics. Overall, the GOP took in $33.7 million nationwide, the Democrats more than $25 million.
In Virginia, which has voted Republican in the past seven presidential elections, $1.6 million was given to the national GOP, $839,747 to the Democrats.
Donors generally give more to the party in power, Virginia Commonwealth University political analyst Robert Holsworth said, and so the GOP's majority in Congress at least partially explains the disparity in giving.
Northern Virginia, home to scores of trade organizations and lobbying interests, led in state giving.
``The regional economy in Northern Virginia is much more heavily dependent on federal spending than the Richmond economy is,'' Holsworth said. It follows that Northern Virginia would spend more on national politics.
The biggest Republican contributor nationally was Philip Morris, which is based in New York but also is Richmond's largest private employer. The tobacco-and-food conglomerate gave nearly $1 million to the Republicans.
The contributions directly to national parties have been criticized by some as a huge loophole in campaign finance law. The loophole allows more donors - and larger contributions - than for individual candidates.
The Democratic and Republican National committees, and the congressional and senatorial committees, can spend the money indirectly helping candidates with advertising and other campaign costs.
Other major contributors included Richmond-based CSX Corp., which gave $60,000 to the GOP and $10,000 to the Democrats; Circuit City Stores, which gave $30,290 to the Republicans; and Ethyl Corp., which gave the GOP $12,500.
``Ethyl, it's not surprising that they're giving to Republicans, because they've taken such a beating from the EPA under Clinton,'' Holsworth said
Ethyl won court approval to market a fuel additive, HiTEC 3000, last fall after a long fight.
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT CONGRESSby CNB