Defense goes all-in for incumbents
Who would have thought that a Democratic incumbent’s most loyal supporter in a rebellious political climate would be a defense contractor?
A review of the industry’s giving, however, shows that to be the case in some of the most hotly contested House and Senate races this year.
Take the reelection race of freshman Virginia Rep. Glenn Nye, who is among the top targets for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
In 2008, Nye netted less than $10,000 in defense industry donations. Less than two years later, after serving on the House Armed Services Committee and fighting to keep an aircraft carrier stationed in Norfolk, Va., defense donations to his campaign have increased 10-fold.
Defense cash is part of what’s put Nye slightly ahead of his opponent, GOP challenger and wealthy car dealer Scott Rigell, in fundraising totals — even as the anti-incumbent sentiment roiling the 2010 campaign season has given Rigell an advantage in some polls.
Nye’s race follows the perennial pattern of giving for top defense firms Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co., Northrop Grumman and others, which bet heavily on incumbents and stand by them in good times and bad.
“This may be the worst year in a long time to bet on incumbents, but it’s the natural reflex of the defense industry,” said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the defense-industry-backed Lexington Institute.
Defense companies go with the members they know — pouring money into the campaigns of members on the Armed Services Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. “Generally speaking, the defense industry has a very finely tuned grasp of where individual members are coming from,” Thompson said.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42733.html#ixzz10lDkEeVg
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