Statewide money is fueling the State Senate race between Beard and Breitbach

Nearly $300,000 has already been spent on the campaign in State Senate District #28 between Democrat John Beard of Decorah and Republican Michael Breitbach of Strawberry Point--and most of that money has come from outside the district.

Campaign financing reports filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board show Beard had spent $34,877 by October 19th and Breitbach has spent $59,551.  But those figures don't come close to telling how much money has been pumped into the election campaign.

That's because both the Republican Party of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party have spent massive amounts of money in "in-kind donations."  For instance, the Republican Party of Iowa has spent $39,148 on mailings, newspaper ads and even TV production costs.  That means the Breitbach campaign has already cost around $100,000 as of October 19th.

But the Democratic Party of Iowa has pumped in even more money on behalf of John Beard--$144,752 in all.  Over $61,000 of that money has paid for TV advertising.  Most of the rest of the money has gone towards sending out mailings.

The influence of out-of-district money becomes even more pronounced when the contributions from statewide political action committees are added to the "in kind" donations of both political parties.  Breitbach took in $44,500 in PAC contributions as of October 19th--meaning more than $83,000 of the $100,000 spent on Breitbach's campaign has been from statewide money.

Not that Beard's record is any different. He reported $22,000 in statewide PAC contributions.  When added to the $144,752 in Democratic Party of Iowa "in kind" contributions, that means that $167,000 of the $181,000 spent on Beard's campaign as of October 19th has been from money from outside the 28th State Senate District.

Campaign disclosure reports are available for all political candidates on-line