ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Sen. John Warner raised $1.47million from political action committees this fall, more than any other U.S. Senate candidate in 1996, government records show.
About 28 percent of the $5.1 million the Republican spent on his re-election campaign came from PACs, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Warner's high PAC support is not surprising, said Sheila Krumholz, project director at the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance.
``PACs are always more attentive to a candidate who has as much seniority and clout as Warner because they like to give to a safe bet,'' she said.
Warner, an 18-year incumbent, placed first in PAC-money ahead of Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D., the Senate Commerce Committee chairman who was unseated by Democrat Tim Johnson. Pressler raised $1,466,772 from PACs, compared with Warner's $1,473,796.
Warner won re-election to a fourth term over Democrat Mark Warner, an Alexandria businessman and multimillionaire who came within 5 percentage points of John Warner. The Warners are not related.
Mark Warner, who criticized the senator for his affiliation with special interests, took no money from PACs, but spent a record $11.5 million trying to unseat the incumbent. The Democrat pumped $10.3 million of his personal fortune into his campaign.
John Warner pointed out Friday that Mark Warner's campaign did accept the support of such groups as the United Mine Workers, the National Council of Seniors, and the National Education Association.
``These organizations provided research support, get-out-the-vote efforts and mailing lists,'' John Warner said.
The senator also said that contributions to PACs come ``from individuals who joined together voluntarily to support the ability of a candidate to communicate with the voters.''
As chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, his views on the subject could influence policy-making on campaign finance reform. The committee will examine proposals for reform starting in February.
Companies and special interests that contributed to Warner's re-election campaign included R.J. Reynolds, Exxon Corp., Bell Atlantic, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and the National Beer Wholesalers.
Senators still need to raise most of their campaign money from individuals, Krumholz said.
Warner received almost $3 million from individuals, ranking him 13th among Senate candidates for that category.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB