WASHINGTON -- With the prospects for a Democratic takeover of the House swiftly rising, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee yesterday came under increasing pressure from within party ranks to borrow up to $10 million to provide funding for several dozen candidates in competitive races who have received little or no national party funding.
The pressure follows confirmation yesterday by a Democratic Party official that the Democratic National Committee has opened a line of credit and plans to borrow $5 million to $10 million, with the money divided between Senate races and an effort to boost turnout of Hispanics and African-Americans in House races. But that loan won't be shared with the DCCC or go directly to House candidates.
As a result, Democratic activists urged the DCCC -- which funds House races -- to rush to the bank in an effort to boost the possibility of a rare ``wave" election in which normally safe Republican seats could turn Democratic.
``There is never going to be a better time," said Democratic strategist Paul Begala, who has visited several dozen districts on behalf of the committee. ``I would be at the bank with my best suit on.
"
Independent analysts agreed. Charles Cook , who runs the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said that unless the committee immediately borrows up to $10 million to help candidates who currently lack national funding, it could miss an opportunity to make historic gains -- which he said could mean more than 35 seats. The Democrats need 15 seats to regain control of the House.
``It will probably be a generation or two before Democrats see another election year like this one," Cook said in a telephone interview. ``You either milk it for all it's worth or just leave a lot of seats on the table."
Carol Shea-Porter , a New Hampshire Democrat trying to unseat Republican Representative Jeb Bradley, is one candidate who could benefit from national funding.
She beat a better-financed candidate in the primary, attracted lots of media attention, and recently was cited by a Democratic strategy group as one of 49 challengers with the best opportunities to win GOP-held seats. But Shea-Porter said she has not received a penny from the national committee.
While the DCCC rarely takes sides in a primary fight, the committee last March contributed $5,000 to Shea-Porter's primary opponent, Jim Craig .
Moreover, the committee chairman, Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois , was so confident that Craig would win the primary that he steered another $7,000 to Craig for use in the general election.
But after Shea-Porter beat Craig in an upset, the committee did not follow through with a donation to her campaign.
``I would say if [the DCCC] wants to run ads, that would be a wonderful thing," Shea-Porter said.
``The media part is obviously the most expensive part of it."
While the committee is pouring money into several dozen races that it believes could help Democrats regain the House, more than 300 other Democratic candidates have not benefited from committee contributions -- even though a growing number are in competitive contests.
Sarah Feinberg , a DCCC spokeswoman, declined to comment on whether the committee would take out a large loan.
But she said ``there are many races where we would like to do more." A second DCCC official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the possibility of taking out a large loan is ``definitely in the mix" but that the committee would try to keep it secret until after the election ``for strategic reasons."
A decision by the committee to extend its funding to new races could be make or break for candidates such as Shea-Porter.
As of the end of September, she had $49,000 on hand, compared with $538,000 for Bradley. The committee is allowed to provide a maximum of $79,200 in expenditures coordinated with a campaign.
But that is only the beginning.
Once the party has signaled its financial support for a candidate, political action committees often follow with tens of thousands of dollars. Moreover, the party often adds ``independent expenditures," which can pay for costly television spots and are unlimited.
The Federal Election Commission said yesterday that the DCCC has spent $15.
5 million in independent expenditures so far in this election cycle, versus $46.8 million by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Begala, who visited New Hampshire at the DCCC's behest in support of Craig, is surprised the committee hasn't provided funds for Shea-Porter.
``Sure, they should," Begala said.
Meanwhile, the NRCC in August spent $21,000 on polling in the race. Updated spending reports from both parties are due to be filed tomorrow.
It is common for candidates who don't receive national party funding to complain that they are being short-changed. But this year the complaints may have more validity because analysts say a growing number of candidates are in close contests but are not receiving funding.
To be sure, analysts said that mid-term elections are so unpredictable that is not clear whether the Democrats will win even the 15 seats necessary to retake the House.
Nonetheless, Larry Sabato , who runs the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, started the campaign season by naming 30 close contests, ``but now we are counting 50 as being competitive and then on top of that looking at a couple of dozen."
In southern Virginia, Democrat Al Weed would welcome DCCC money, but so far hasn't received it. He is challenging incumbent Representative Virgil Goode, a Republican .
Goode received a spate of negative publicity when it was reported that he had unwittingly received illegal contributions from a defense contractor. Goode has not been charged with wrongdoing and has given away the contributions, but Weed would like to run more ads on the issue.
Feinberg, the DCCC spokeswoman, said the committee has contributed some funding to about 78 incumbents, few of whom are considered in danger of losing their seats, and to 43 challengers.
The National Republican Congressional Committee said it has provided significant expenditures in 43 districts, spokesman Ed Patru said. He declined to say whether the committee plans to expand its funding to other races.
One of the NRCC's biggest independent expenditures has been for the seat held by Representative Christopher Shays , the Connecticut Republican.
The NRCC has spent more than $776,000 on behalf of Shays, while the DCCC has spent more than $108,000 in independent expenditures on Democratic challenger Diane Farrell .
Sometimes, however, the support of national party committees can backfire. Without consulting Shays, the NRCC mailed leaflets titled: ``Diane Farrell: Coffee Talk with the Taliban.
" The NRCC justified the leaflet by saying Farrell had accepted a campaign contribution from a group that include a board member who suggested talking with the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks.
With no evidence that Farrell herself supported talking to the Taliban, an uproar ensued and Shays found himself in the awkward position of repudiating the party organization.
``The NRCC has crossed the line ," Shays said in a statement to voters. ``These ads have to stop. I call on the NRCC to put an end to sending this type of garbage to Fourth District mailboxes.
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