27 Feb 12 Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Marcy Kaptur reveal campaign cash; Sam ‘Joe the Plumber’ Wurzelbacher fails to file report

Marvin Fong, the Plain DealerU.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur, left, and Dennis Kucinich debate Monday at the City Club of Cleveland. At right is candidate Graham Veysey.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich raised more than three times as much money as Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the first six weeks of this year, according to reports filed Thursday at the Federal Election Commission.

But the longtime Toledo incumbent who is battling Kucinich in a hotly contested primary for a reconfigured congressional district along Lake Erie was still able to outspend her rival and end the period on Feb. 15 with more money in the bank.

FEC reports show that Kucinich collected more than $360,000 during the first six weeks of the year from donors including Hollywood stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Deidre Hall, who each gave him $2,500, and James Cromwell, who gave $1,000.

Local auto dealer Rick Case and his wife, Rita, each gave $2,500 to Kucinich. Former Democratic Congress member James V. Stanton gave him $2,000. he also got political action committee (PAC) donations from Steelworkers and Longshoremen unions.

Kucinich’s $231,540 in expenses included more than $50,000 for a fundraising concert at the Lorain Palace Theatre with country music icon Willie Nelson, more than $50,000 for printing, and more than $25,000 on website consulting to Democratic political guru Joe Trippi. he spent more than $9,000 on postage as well as $352 on robo calls. his campaign had $250,407 in the bank on Feb. 15.

Kucinich’s campaign also paid office rent to a new landlord with a corporate address in Tacoma, Washington, a state where Kucinich discussed seeking a congressional seat last year. A Kucinich spokesman said the congressman’s Lorain campaign office is owned by the Washington-based company. Property records show the landlord owns several properties in Washington state, Iowa and Ohio.

Kaptur raised about $89,000 in that time. her donors included numerous political action committees – those representing the Steelworkers union and defense contractor Boeing each gave her $5,000. she also got donations from Cleveland business leaders including Albert Ratner of Forest City Management, who gave $2,500, and attorney Richard Pogue, who gave $1,500.

The $372,684 that Kaptur spent during the period included more than $200,000 for television ads, $22,000 for campaign research and more than $40,000 for campaign printing, mailing, and consulting to a Cleveland firm called R Strategy Group.

The website for R Strategy Group – headed by Democratic political consultant Jeff Rusnak – on Friday listed a third candidate in the same Democratic primary – video company operator Graham Veysey as “of counsel” to the firm.

Rusnak said Veysey previously did video production work for R Strategy Group but has not worked for the company since he decided to run for Congress. Rusnak said he’d remove mentions of Veysey from his website.

“Jeff is on our team only and I don’t think Graham has done any work for him since deciding to run for Congress,” added Kaptur campaign manager Steve Fought. “Everybody was aware that R Strategy would have an exclusive relationship with Kaptur for Congress, so Graham is not involved.”

Kaptur’s campaign ended the reporting period with $422,911 in the bank.

Veysey’s campaign raised $53,180 and spent $16,396 in the period covered by the report. his campaign had $36,401 left in the bank.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of a GOP face-off between Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher of Holland and Huron Auctioneer Steven Kraus.

Kraus raised $3,724 in the period covered by the report and spent $5,669. his campaign had $193 in the bank on Feb. 15.

Although Wurzelbacher has filed FEC reports in the past, he did not file the required pre-primary report on Thursday’s deadline. Campaigns that miss deadlines or don’t file required reports are subject to administrative fines from the FEC.

“Thank you so much for your interest,” Wurzelbacher spokesman Roman Schroeder replied when asked about the campaign’s missing report. “I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

Republicans who control Ohio’s state legislature put Kaptur and Kucinich into the same Democratic-leaning congressional district when they redrew Ohio’s congressional districts. because of Ohio’s slow population growth, their map had to eliminate two of Ohio’s current 18 congressional seats.

Their remap also put freshman Republican Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth into the same congressional district as Copley Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton. the pair will face each other in November.

FEC reports showed Renacci raised $110,606 in the reporting period, spent $39,428, and had more than $1 million in the bank. the campaign has not yet repaid Renacci $370,000 in personal funds he loaned the campaign.

Renacci’s donors included Summit County GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff, who gave $5,000, Sam Miller of Forest City Enterprises, who gave $1,000, and Koch Industries’ political action committee, which gave him $4,000.

Sutton’s campaign raised $67,006 during the six weeks covered by the report, spent $61,241 and ended up with a $438,897 bankroll. her donors included auto dealer Alan Spitzer and University of Akron law school dean Martin Belsky, who each gave $1,000, and FirstEnergy’s political action committee, which gave her $5,000.

A PAC representing the defense contractor General Dynamics gave $1,000 to both candidates in February. the National Air Traffic Controllers Association also contributed to both, though it gave $500 to Sutton and $1,500 to Renacci.