Switch detected in Senate DFL feeder fund
The practice of legislative leaders helping bulk up the campaign spending accounts of obscure county and district parties was detailed Wednesday in a MPR News report.
But there was one slight bend in the money stream that didn't get attention. In 2016, the favored local account of Minnesota's top DFL senator switched.
For many years, Cook Sen. Tom Bakk's golf fundraiser and other efforts were geared toward assisting the 3rd District Senate DFL with its fundraising. MPR News documented more than $170,000 in lobbyist and political action committee money since 2011 that had flowed through that district account. It was largely fed back out to DFL senators or hopefuls in competitive races.
This year, however, the 3rd District donations dropped to their lowest point in years -- a mere $4,500 through late October. Instead, the Koochiching County DFL saw a boom in campaign donations, with its contributions climbing from $8,250 in 2015 to about $43,000 this year and much higher than the last Senate election cycle. The county fund spent $32,000 of it on large checks to DFL candidates in key races.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
A message left with Bakk about the changed preferences wasn't immediately returned. And Koochiching County's chairman, Joseph Boyle, didn't answer a phone call.
But Don Fosnacht, the 3rd Senate District DFL chairman, offered a possible explanation in a phone call Thursday that was in response to a message left the week before. Fosnacht was elected to his post in June, replacing the incumbent chairman. He said he simply didn't have a prior relationship with Bakk and that might not have provided enough comfort to the senator.
Fosnacht said he wasn't intimately involved in the past fundraising activity in the 3rd District. He said decisions on how to spend the money have been and will continue to be left to an executive board.
"The key thing there is to make sure it is used for party purposes," Fosnacht said.
It's unclear whether the big money will swing back from Koochiching to the 3rd Senate District DFL for coming elections.
"We'll see what happens with the long-term on that," Fosnacht said.