Swift Boat financer donated $125k to state GOP, or about 90 percent raised
The man who financed the controversial Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which targeted Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004, has donated over $125,000 to the New Mexico Republican Party.
This isn't the first time Bob Perry has donated to the New Mexico Republican Party. The Associated Press' Barry Massey reported:
He and his wife contributed nearly $240,000 to the 2002 gubernatorial campaign of John Sanchez, who lost to Democrat Bill Richardson. In 2006, Perry and his wife gave $160,000 the state GOP nominees for attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state and auditor and at least $70,000 to the state party.
According to reports filed with the Secretary of State, Perry contributed nearly all of the money the Republican Party received this election cycle. Between May 28 and June 28, Perry's donations equaled nearly 90 percent of the party's total donations of $140,294. The donor who gave the next-highest amount of money was Qwest Communications Inc. with $4,000.
In comparison the Democratic Party received $32,550 from donors in the same period. Their biggest donor, Coast Range Investments, gave $5,000 to the party.
"He's just very invested in helping us change the landscape in New Mexico," Darnell said of Perry to the Associated Press Tuesday.
It is not unusual for Perry to give out large sums of money. In 2006 he was the top donor to 527s. He doled out more than $16 million in efforts to elect Republicans in 2006.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is responsible for adding the verb "Swiftboat" to the political lexicon. Democrats view the campaign as dishonest attacks on Kerry's military service, while many Republicans view the group as doing as their moniker suggests and telling the truth. The group spent millions on ads, much of which came from Perry's checkbook, to questgion Kerry's Purple Hearts and other wartime honors.
So-called 527 groups are tax-exempt groups "organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities including voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy and the like," according to OpenSecrets.org.
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