Trial lawyers fund rich, new PAC
Group has raised $278,000, doubling the haul of other committees in the state
A new group funded mostly by personal injury and medical malpractice law firms raised more than twice as much money as any other political action committee in the state over the last six months, amassing over a quarter-million dollars.
Heading into the 2018 elections, the haul signals that litigators — often major spenders in state elections — are poised once again to play a big role in New Mexico campaigns.
Safety and Justice for All PAC reported raising nearly $278,000 from about two dozen lawyers and law firms, with the average donation totaling around $10,000.
But it reported spending only $20 during the six-month period that ended earlier in April, leaving it with a larger war chest than many of the biggestspending PACs in New Mexico politics. What is all the money for? “I think the title kind of describes what we’re up to,” said Jon Lipshutz, a political consultant working with the PAC. “This is a PAC that is going to look at how to promote issues or candidates that want to make New Mexico safer and fairer.”
Registered with the Secretary of State’s Office in November, the group is what is known as an independent expenditure PAC, meaning it can spend unlimited sums campaigning for or against candidates as long as it does not coordinate with them.
Beyond that, Lipshutz did not give away much about the group’s plans. He said the group has not made any formal decisions on which races it would seek to influence, such as whether it would wade into legislative campaigns or contests for judgeships.
There are, after all, five state Court of Appeals positions on the ballot, and there are several swing districts in the state House of Representatives — all important for trial lawyers.
While Lipshutz, a veteran of several Democratic campaigns, said the group is nonpartisan, litigators have been major supporters for Democrats.
The Committee on Individual Responsibility, which is also funded primarily by trial lawyers and has donated heavily to Democrats, ranked among the top fundraisers, too, after taking in nearly $76,000 over the last six months.
The Safety and Justice for All PAC lists as its treasurer Cynthia Fry, a former state Court of Appeals judge elected as a Democrat.
Political action committees run the gamut, though.
Many are arms of political parties, nonprofit groups and labor unions with large memberships that chip in relatively small amounts at a time to back favored candidates or issues. Others are run by public officials and their consultants to pool big contributions from companies and other campaigns to influence tight races. Some are funded by just one person or business.
The names of some PACs tell you exactly what they are about, such as the New Mexico Restaurant Association or the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters.
Others use names that reveal little, such as New Mexico Family First (which raised money from energy companies and donated to Republicans) or Visions New Mexico (which primarily raised money from labor unions and gave to Democrats).
A PAC might donate to a candidate or could use its money to campaign on its own by advertising, organizing phone banks or paying workers to knock on doors. That spending can in turn help swing a race.
Advocates for campaign finance reform argue that PACs also can be a means for big donors to skirt donation limits. The state allows individuals to only donate $5,500 to a statewide candidate during a primary election and another $5,500 during a general election. The cap is lower in other races, such as campaigns for Legislature. But a donor can then ply tens of thousands of dollars more into an independent expenditure PAC that could influence the same candidate’s race.
Viki Harrison, executive director of the campaign finance reform group Common Cause New Mexico, said the amount of money spent by independent expenditure groups has grown election after election following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizen United v. the Federal Election Commission. That decision drastically
loosened the restrictions on spending by such organizations.
“So, unfortunately, we are expecting that number to get even bigger this cycle with the governor and [state] House up for election, as well as the other statewide races,” she said.
PACs are required to report fundraising and spending to the Secretary of State’s Office. The first reports of the year were due Monday, covering the time period from October to early April. PACs are scheduled to report again May 14.
Behind Safety and Justice for All PAC in the latest round of reports, the Realtors Association of New Mexico topped fundraising with about $120,000. The Republican Campaign Committee of New Mexico reported raising the third-highest total with nearly $113,000. The Democratic Party of New Mexico and House Democratic Campaign Committee followed with about $199,000 combined.
Meanwhile, those three party committees spent more than any other, expending a total of nearly $342,000.
The spending comes as both parties vie to control the state House of Representatives as a new governor takes office in 2019.
Democrats won back control of the chamber in 2016 after a brief reign by Republicans and now hold 38 seats, while the GOP has 32.
Several of the seats now occupied by Democrats are in competitive districts where Republicans are hoping to regain ground it lost in the Democratic wave of 2016. Both parties and any number of PACs will likely pour money into those swing districts.