Life

My Only Campaign Contribution

I’ve reported on and studied campaign finance for nearly a decade now, and as a journalist one of the cardinal rules is that you don’t contribute to campaigns or political committees, especially state and national ones. So why in the world am I listed as giving $250 to the Florida Republican Party’s federal account on 9/11/2000?

Blame the 2000 Republican National Convention, which I covered for Congressional Quarterly. Getting a credential to the event itself didn’t involve paying anybody, but if you’re covering particular delegations or politicians, it sometimes helps to hang out with those delegations at their (semi) private functions. Back then, I was covering Florida races for CQ, so I asked the state party if I could attend some of the breakfasts and other soirees.

The reply? Sure, just pay us $250 first and we’ll “credential” you. So I plunked down my personal credit card (not having a corporate card or anything) and paid, thinking that this would be an administrative thing, not an actual donation. I should have known better – it’s money coming into the party, so it’s a contribution. Other delegations didn’t charge reporters for the privilege of joining them, but I did feel free to have a soda or snack in the state party’s hospitality suite. After all, I paid for it.