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Sarah Palin's PAC Pulls In Nearly $1 Million in Second Quarter

1 year ago
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Sarah Palin's political action committee had its best fundraising quarter ever between April and June, bringing in nearly $1 million. It funneled $87,500 of that to Republican candidates, including several -- but not all -- of the ones she endorsed.

Among the recipients of the former Alaska governor's largess were 11 GOP candidates running for some of the 23 Democratic House seats she targeted after passage of the controversial health care reform in March.

In a report filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission, SarahPAC indicated that Palin took in $865,815 from April 1 through June 30, and spent $742,334. Candidate donations made up only about 12 percent of the PAC's total spending for the second quarter, with the bulk going to consulting and travel expenses. With the general election less than four months away, SarahPAC has almost $1.04 million in cash to spend.

Sarah PalinEleven percent of the candidate donations went to Iowa, a key 2012 presidential state with its early caucuses, in the form of $5,000 each to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and GOP gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad.

Sarah PAC donated $2,500 to Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle, who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, days after the controversial Tea Party candidate won a competitive June 8 primary. Palin mentioned one of Angle's opponents in a list of "pink elephants/mama grizzlies" in a May speech, but never made a formal endorsement in the race.

And while Palin is getting plenty of credit for Nikki Haley's GOP gubernatorial nomination in South Carolina, her help wasn't monetary. She has yet to donate to Haley, but Palin's in-person endorsement and a later defense of Haley against adultery accusations appeared to carry considerable weight in that Southern state.

Haley wasn't the only Palin endorsee left out of this round of cash, but there's plenty of time for SarahPAC to help Haley and others. As PAC treasurer Tim Crawford pointed out to the AP: "We're going to really help a lot of Republican candidates get a chance to win." (Of course, the $4,000 the PAC donated to flamed-out Idaho congressional candidate Vaughn Ward, who lost his primary, might have been more helpful elsewhere.)

Other Palin endorsees rewarded with $5,000 each were: South Carolina House candidate Tim Scott, Washington Senate candidate Clint Didier, Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller, Washington House candidate Cathy McMorris Rodgers and California House candidate Star Parker. The PAC donated $2,500 to Carly Fiorina, the California Senate candidate.

Sarah PAC donated $3,500 to 11 Republican candidates running in districts Palin targeted after the health care votes.

The PAC's second-quarter donations to candidates far exceed the paltry $7,500 it doled out between January and the end of March. But the committee also spent more on fundraising, consulting and travel in the second quarter than in the first. Much of the money went to fundraising, including more than $153,000 to Virginia-based HSP Direct for direct-mail services and $75,000 for postage. The PAC spent $17,264 on charter flights and $37,228 on commercial airfare. And almost $215,000 went to consulting on everything from national and international issues to media and logistics.

Other nuggets from the filings:

There's no indication of spending on Palin's "Mama Grizzlies" Web ad that stirred things up in the YouTube world last week. That's likely to show up in the next quarterly report.

More than $2,462 went to buy books from the Anchorage Waldenbooks and the Wasilla Borders Books as well as Palin's Wasilla gal-pal Kristan Cole (a real estate agent; it's unclear what her book-selling role is). There is no indication what books were purchased, but in 2009, the PAC spent $63,000 buying copies of Palin's "Going Rogue" to give to donors.

Indian Valley Meats of Indian, Alaska, received $3,808 for "gift-bag items." The business sells wild game and fish, including reindeer, venison, buffalo, salmon and more, according to its website.
Filed Under: Sarah Palin, Woman Up

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21 Comments

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andrc657

Sarah Palin and tea party candidates like Angle, Paul and Rubio need to explain their cozy relationships with the big corporate interests. Also why do they support even more huge tax cuts for the rich.

July 13 2010 at 4:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
vivralafrance

do not forget , with every dollar comes thousands of strings attached! she wants to ensure many owe her big as it is the only way she can make it or be anything. a subtle and unique form of bribery . she will buy her way back in after quitting

July 13 2010 at 1:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
I love USA

Go, Sarah! Hope 2 million comes in this week!!!!!

July 12 2010 at 7:09 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
hider51210

That's $1 Million from hundreds of thousands of regular folks. Scary to Liberals huh? It should be.

July 12 2010 at 4:11 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to hider51210's comment
tanirocker

It's scary to anyone with an IQ above room temperature. It's a shame that so many Americans have failed to see through the half-term governor's scam to line her pockets.

July 12 2010 at 5:26 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
pttypinkley

How can you thank the Dems for her scamming millions? I love it...she's getting millions off her kind! They are just handing it over!

July 12 2010 at 7:27 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
glers

1 million a quarter should cover clothing bill

July 12 2010 at 3:26 PM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply
djh6721

P.T. Barnum would have an accurate take on this.... Something about one being born every minute...

July 12 2010 at 1:05 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
bpdarling

Sarah Palin has created a PAC for only ONE reason. That reason is to put more $$ in her personal bank account. She raised $1 million, but only donated $87,000 to "other AGOP candidates"? Hmmmm. Real Estate agent gets big payout? Hmmmm. SarahPAC buys THOUSANDS of copies of Sarah's book? Hmmmm. (nobody else will buy it, so she has to use campaign contributions to buy it herself, which puts even MORE of that money in HER PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT.

You may like Sarah, and get a warm and fuzzy when you see her on TV, but just know that her PERSONAL motivation is PURELY about SARAH, and more money for SARAH.

She has uttered NOT ONE WORD about political agenda, platform, or anything else. Her "ads" are 100% ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK.

Remember people, it is easier to SCARE people than to EDUCATE them. Sarah palin is taking great advantage of that FACT.

July 12 2010 at 1:00 PM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to bpdarling's comment
kingnus

No use being in politics unless you can become wealthy off of it.

July 12 2010 at 2:05 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
Jeff

Now you know that money didn't go in her personal bank account.
Why do you hate and fear Sarah Palin. I would suspect because
she is a Republican.

July 12 2010 at 5:18 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
telbdg

I think that Sarah Palin has shown herself to be down-to-earth and level-headed and practical. Why should she not choose who she wants to be interviewed by after the stupid way Katie Couric interviewed her? Who cares what she reads on a daily basis, I would find it hard to read anything if I were the mother of five and the Governor of anywhere. I think the time has come to examine the electoral college and to eliminate this antiquated and ridiculous way of voting. With all the technology we have today, who needs it? No other country votes this way.

July 12 2010 at 12:32 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to telbdg's comment
digibility

Your post makes no sense. These are two unrelated ideas and have no real bearing on the thread. As far as Ms. Couric's interview, I think it was right to the point; the woman has no real basis of knowledge and no concept of foreign affairs at all. The fact that Russia is right at her back door is a non-sequitor, Russia is no longer our enemy. Her lack of knowledge and her extreme religious views are reason enough to make her unfit for national office, let alone VP. It's a sad statement about our society that she actually has followers who would pay money for her poorly-written missives.

July 12 2010 at 1:42 PM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply
kingnus

Telbdg, have you ever heard her anwser a question or do an interview? She is all over the place.

July 12 2010 at 2:24 PM Report abuse -4 rate up rate down Reply
andrc657

Sarah Palin is a very attractive lady with a telegenic presence. However she seems to have little understanding of the important issues of the day. She is afraid to be interviewed by anyone other than FOX NEWS who are the right arm of the republican/tea party establishment. She will never be taken seriously until she answers questions from the real media.

July 12 2010 at 12:03 PM Report abuse -9 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to andrc657's comment
Jeff

She is taken seriously by us Republicans.

July 12 2010 at 5:22 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
ettu

Money to campaign is one thing, voter fraud and intimidation is another. Can we keep our polling places safe and honest? Looking at past elections, one would have to question the integrity of our process. With todays' technology, there is no excuse for "dead" voters, illegal immigrant votes, unregistered voters, votes for one candidate being counted for another, etc. This is absurd, and the American people need to demand that some of the billions of our tax dollars being spent on the fish and field mice, needs to be invested in secure and accurate voting mechanisms. Hand print recognition is available, and not all that expensive. When you register to vote, you submit your hand for scanning. When you vote, you again submit your hand for scanning, and that is cross checked with the identification you carry. Much better than the punch cards, hand tallying, paper records, etc., that are in use today, and subject to all sorts of fraud. Absentee ballots should have to be postmarked at least 3 weeks prior to the election, and be the first to be validated and counted. This seems to be the area with the greatest opportunity for fraud.

July 12 2010 at 9:42 AM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply

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