Costs of political campaigns tough for newcomers
7:21 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2008
Head out near the small town of Marquette, Kansas and you'll find Tom Buffington doing what he loves. Besides farming, Buffington has politics in his blood. That's why he decided to run for a Kansas House seat a few years ago.
"I've aged. (laugh) I have aged," he said.
He had posters, buttons and cards to hand out. And it took a lot of money to buy it all.
"You're going to have to raise $10,000, you're going to have to raise $20,000. That's kind of a scary thing," he said.
Buffington says most candidates start out small, loaning themselves money and campaigning round the clock. Back then, he paid for a lot of campaign expenses with his own cash. He says if you don't have much money, you don't have much of a campaign.
"If you get up against a candidate with deep pockets, you're not going to outspend him, you're not going to match him," said Buffington.
Of course, the money you donate to a candidate can only be used for certain things.
Candidates can reimburse themselves for miles driven on the campaign trail, but can't pay for car repairs or new tires.
Campaign money can be used to buy food for volunteers or staff, but cannot be used for a candidate's personal meals.
Cell phones and computers are covered, but clothing is not.
Buffington lost his race by 35 votes.
"I think the most upsetting thing is after a close race like this, people will come up and say, 'If I knew it was going to be that close, I would've voted.' And you're sitting there going 'Thanks a lot!'"
He hopes the next time someone like him knocks on your door, you understand what it's taken to get there.
"He's spending a lot of his own money and it's his sweat out there. Just just him a couple of seconds, at least take the card. At least act like you're interested."
The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission keeps track of a candidate's expenses.
The director says in the past, the agency has caught candidates using campaign cash to paint their house, pay for lawn service and even braces for their kids.
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