THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210824
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEC KLEIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 196 lines
Call it Ollie Inc.
Like a flush corporate machine, Oliver L. North is spending over six times more on his U.S. Senate campaign than his two opponents combined, the latest finance reports show.
North, fueling Virginia's most costly Senate race ever, can spend so much because he can generate even more through a vast direct-mail empire. By this evening, the Republican candidate is expected to break the record for the most money raised in a U.S. Senate race, a campaign source said. U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) set the record in 1990, amassing $17.8 million.
Yet as fast as North has raised money, he has plowed it back into the campaign. From July 1 to Sept. 30, his campaign netted $6.5 million, but spent nearly $6.3 million.
Over that time, Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles S. Robb spent $813,882, while independent candidate J. Marshall Coleman's costs only amounted to $164,363, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
For all of North's financial mastery, his campaign shoulders massive overhead expenses. For every dollar his campaign spends, records show, more than 50 cents is devoted to raise more money.
On payroll taxes alone, North spent $90,635 over three months. And just to process thousands of daily incoming donations, his campaign spent nearly $85,000 - more than Robb's printing costs, or Coleman's payroll and media expenses.
``It is a large organization, but it's not easy to unseat an incumbent,'' said North spokesman Dan McLagan.
Combined, the three candidates spent $7,256,405.25 in just three months, enough to buy a year's service from baseball player Barry Bonds, 604,700 compact discs, or a month of food and supplies for 345,543 impoverished children through the Christian Children's Fund.
In strictly financial terms, a business professor compared Coleman's operating expenses to a mom-and-pop restaurant and Robb's to a ``pretty big gas station'' with a food mart.
By contrast, North's financial juggernaut measured up to a manufacturing plant with 200 employees. ``It's not a Reynolds Metal (factory), but you're getting there,'' said C. Ray Smith, a business administration professor at the University of Virginia.
North's expenses, while great, have still left room to invest heavily and reap dividends. In spending more than $1.4 million in television advertising from June through September, North has softened his image as a Rambo-esque coordinator of a national covert policy to free hostages and destroy Communism. At the beginning of September, North trailed Robb in polls by 5 percentage points; now, North leads by 4 points.
``Let's look at it like three companies competing for a market,'' said Roger H. Ford, a banker and entrepreneur and James Madison University professor. ``The first thing you notice is, one of them has money and the others don't.''
Rarely has an incumbent faced a challenger who can outspend him. Robb's quandary shows up in records: The Democrat spent $118,000 on political consulting fees, $4,000 more than North did.
But with less at his disposal, Robb has tried to do what North has done, only on a smaller scale: The incumbent has spent heavily to get his message out through mass mailings, printing, telemarketing and postage.
Records, however, also reflect Robb's limitations. Through September, he had only spent $15,000 on television advertising.
But Robb had to conserve his resources for the manic final push. Records show that by late September, Robb and North had about the same amount of cash on hand - $1 million. And North's lead in the polls is so close to the statistical margin of error that the candidates could be in a dead heat.
North's ``millions didn't buy him an advantage,'' said Robb spokesman Bert Rohrer. ``First of all, we never planned to try to match him dollar for dollar personal life, government, or a political campaign.''
But even Coleman, trailing badly in polls, outspent Robb in television advertising through September, records show. Otherwise, the independent candidate has been frugal out of necessity, relegated to standing on the financial sidelines and decrying a campaign of breakneck spending.
``Virginia's never seen this before,'' said C. Anson Franklin, Coleman's campaign manager. ``It's become a bit tawdry.''
The three-way race has become so costly that North, Robb and Coleman combined have put up numbers bigger than those of several major Virginia companies. Together, their campaigns nearly matched S&K Famous Brands' general and administrative expenses, according to the Richmond-based men's clothing company's May 1993 quarterly report. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Oliver L. North is spending six times more than his opponents
combined in the Senate race.
Graphic
FEC REPORT
Oct. 15 quarterly report from the Federal Election Commission
Covering July 1 through Sept. 30
Oliver L. North
Republican
Net contributions this period:
$6,552,056.90
Net contributions year-to-date:
$13,590,383.33
Net operating expenditures this period:
$6,278,159.27
Net operating expenditures year-to-date:
$13,001,757.43
Cash on hand at close of reporting period:
$1,046,256.58
Partial expenditure breakdown:
Direct mail: $2,526,080.18
Media: $1,473,424.01
Postage: $828,200.12
Payroll: $195,352.61
Telemarketing: $166,180.13
Printing: $137,191.17
Consulting fees: $114,660.69
Travel, hotels, meals: $103,676.22
Payroll taxes: $90,635.25
Caging services: $84,777.73
Office supplies, rent: $55,407.00
Legal services: $51,706.98
Accounting fees: $48,487.88
Computer services: $46,844.47
Phone: $34,307.01
Facilities: $28,413.56
Polling: $28,000.00
Delivery services: $20,229.29
Bank charges: $18,677.52
Refund contributions: $17,652.80
Insurance: $9,036.14
Utilities: $6,621.22
Entertainment: $4,172.55
Photography: $1,012.72
Shredding: $665.68
Temporary help: $45.00
Sen. Charles S. Robb
Democrat
Net contributions this period:
$1,491,720.49
Net contributions year-to-date:
$2,663,806.34
Net operating expenditures this period:
$813,882.84
Net operating expenditures year-to-date:
$2,605,261.33
Cash on hand at close of reporting period:
$1,024,933.64
Partial expenditure breakdown:
Mass mailings: $143,074.60
Payroll: $142,134.24
Consulting fees: $118,018.29
Printing: $64,019.13
Telemarketing: $58,253.22
Payroll taxes: $48,931.81
Polling: $43,000.00
Phone: $32,367.33
Postage: $17,174.34
Media: $15,000.00
Refund contributions: $10,500.18
Insurance: $4,568.00
Utilities: $208.77
Bank charges: $40.00
J. Marshall Coleman
Independent
Net contributions this period:
$241,565.97
Net contributions year-to-date:
$376,575.97
Net operating expenditures this period:
$164,363.14
Net operating expenditures year-to-date:
$225,322.37
Cash on hand at close of reporting period:
$301,942.65
Partial expenditure breakdown:
Media: $40,159.75
Payroll: $34,760.05
Mass mailings: $14,921.60
Printing: $8,542.20
Phone: $8,318.75
Consulting fees: $7,249.00
Postage: $5,221.54
Accounting: $4,796.50
Photography: $276.93
Refund contributions: $258.00
Note: The numbers above reflect the fact that each candidate
reports expenditures under differing categories; in some cases,
items from different categories were reported as one item; several
items bought during a previous reporting period were reported during
the latest period.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES CAMPAIGN
FINANCING CAMPAIGN SPENDING
by CNB