Candidates self-donating more in races

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Congressional hopefuls poured more than $30 million into their own campaigns in 2009 for either special elections or their 2010 races, an analysis indicates.

Self-funding in the first nine months of 2009 outpaced a 14 percent rise in all campaign donations, a USA Today analysis published Tuesday showed.

The number of self-donating candidates was 28 percent more in 2009 than at the same in 2007, the study showed.

Good government watchdogs such as Common Cause said self-funded candidates are symptomatic of an expensive election process that can frighten potential challengers. Candidates say the money they give their campaigns means they have more face-time with voters and are better insulated from special interests.

"It frees you up ... from spending seven or eight hours a day in a room dialing for dollars," said Democrat John Sharp, a Texas Senate candidate who has loaned his campaign $3.1 million.

But do large self-donations indicate success?

The non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics reported 40 of 51 congressional candidates who spent $500,000 or more on their 2008 campaigns lost or quit, USA Today said.