Image via WikipediaGovernment reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise. From: MAPLight
As U.S. House members crisscross their districts looking for votes, they fail to mention that a shocking 79% of their campaign funds come from outside of the districts where their voters live. MAPLight.org released our new report, "Remote Control," this morning, revealing this and other stunning findings:
- 91 House members raised 90% or more of their campaign funds from outside their districts.
- Only 13 House members, three percent, raised more than half of their funds from in-district, where their constituents live.
- Of the top 20 Zip Codes contributing to U.S. House members, 15 are in Washington, DC and the surrounding area.
View a map of contributions to your House member:
Our Remote Control report was featured yesterday evening on the National Public Radio show Markeplace, which reaches 4.5 million listeners each week. In the Marketplace story, Representative John Tanner (D-TN) defends raising 99% of funds from outside his district by saying, "In this town you have to raise money to participate in the system. I don't like the system, but that is the system that we deal with."
When elected officials like Rep. Tanner try to disassociate themselves from our broken money and politics system, it paves the way for change. Make a contribution to MAPLight.org and support our research so we can continue shining a light on the connection between money and politics.
See our full report on out-of-district campaign contributions, including maps and figures for your Representative, at: Remote Control.
Please help us spread the word about our broken money and politics system--forward this email to a friend. Thank you for your support.
Dan Newman
Executive Director
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