Tancredo unfazed by drop in funding

Congressman says immigration stance is right thing to do

Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 14, 2006 at midnight

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Businesses cut donations to Rep. Tom Tancredo last year after his hard-line stance on immigration garnered widespread attention, but the Colorado Republican doesn't care, a spokesman said Friday.

Federal campaign records show that Tancredo received about $385,000 in contributions in 2005 and only $9,926 came from businesses and political action committees, or about 2.6 percent of the total.

In 2004, before he became widely known as a national champion for immigration enforcement, Tancredo raised nearly $983,000, including $92,256 from PACs and businesses.

"Illegal immigration is Congressman Tancredo's signature issue," said Will Adams, Tancredo's spokesman.

"Of course big business doesn't like him.

Adams said Tancredo knew his stance on enforcing immigration laws would cut into campaign support from businesses and PACs, but he believed he was doing the right thing.

"He's trying to stop businesses from hiring cheap, illegal labor that they can exploit," Adams said. "They have an ideal situation now: They can hire illegal aliens and the government, for all intents and purposes, will never come after them for doing it."

Most of last year's donations to Tancredo's campaign fund came from individuals.

Tancredo, a possible presidential candidate who has stumped on immigration in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, hasn't announced his intention to run for Congress again, said Adams.

"He still raises a tremendous amount of money from moms and pops who send in $20 checks," Adams said.

Campaign finance records show that half of Tancredo's donors live in other states, including California, where immigration is a major issue.

Last year, Colorado's other five representatives received between 35 percent to 72 percent of their campaign contributions from PACs and businesses. Sen. Ken Salazar received about 11 percent of his donations from those two sources in 2005 and Sen. Wayne Allard's campaign received about 37 percent.

Adams said Tancredo is proud that campaign finance records show he isn't indebted to special interests that support political campaigns.

"It's to his credit, isn't it, that people these days are outraged that Congress members are being bought by businesses," said Adams.

"The goal of almost all campaign finance reform is to create politicians like Congressman Tancredo who get checks in small sums."

Colorado campaign donations

U.S. House of Representatives in 2005

Total PAC %

• Bob Beauprez, R $501,897 51.9

• Diana DeGette, D $165,226 72.1

• Joel Hefley, R $8,988 38.9

• Marilyn Musgrave, R $1,066,236 35.1

• John Salazar, D $779,264 58.7

• Tom Tancredo, R $384,497 2.6