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Political Buzz – April 2nd, 2012

AN ENTERTAINING REQUEST FOR CAMPAIGN MONEY

Democrat Andrei Cherny is running for Congress in Arizona's Congressional District 9, and he pulled out a creative streak in his request for fundraising as last month's deadline loomed.

Nearly every candidate for federal office routinely points out that a fundraising deadline is near and asks for a last-minute donation.

But Cherny took it one step further in creativity. The email subject line is, "I didn't loose my passport."

The body of the fundraising request goes on:

"I did not lose my passport in some foreign country. I am not a Nigerian finance minister. But I do need your help. Today is the last day of the most important fundraising deadline of our campaign for Congress."

For a comparison, here are some examples of the usual email requests that land in our inboxes.

Republican Paul Babeu, running in Arizona CD4: "I wanted to drop you a quick note before the weekend gets underway... Tomorrow my campaign will report on our first quarter fundraising. I'd love to be able to count you as a supporter."

Republican Martha McSally, running in the special election for Arizona CD8: "Time Is Running Out! Early ballots are out. Campaign finance reports are due in a few days. And we have less than three weeks left until election day."

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, requesting money for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: "We’re close to an incredible milestone in our campaign to stop endless Republican extremism. As of this moment, we are just 121 donations short of the most contributions we've ever had on a single day. Only a few short hours remain before the midnight Federal Election Commission deadline. Will you put us over the top?"

Andrei Cherny CD9 campaign finance,

BIG MONEY VOTE FOR SCHWEIKERT

When it comes to big money Super PACs Citizens United is one of the top names in the category. Remember, it was a US Supreme Court ruling on behalf of Citizens United that opened up the checkbook for so-called Super PACs. So it is of note that the group is backing Rep. David Schweikert, R-CD 6, in his bid for a second term in Congress. Politico is reporting Citizens United giving Schweikert $ 10,000 for the primary and general election.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the newly drawn CD 6 pits two Republican incumbents against each other. Rep. Ben Quayle is also running in that race. Citizens United is not giving Quayle any backing.

In March, the Club for Growth, a powerful, conservative PAC sent a letter out to House Republican leaders telling them to stay out of the CD 6 race. They also threatened to back Schweikert if House leaders backed Quayle.

Citizens United also endorsed CD 8 Republican candidate Jesse Kelly. They also gave him the maximum $10,000 for his race.

About Political Buzz

News, commentary, analysis from the AZPM political team: Christopher Conover, Andrea Kelly, Michael Chihak.