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LibbyMt.com > News > December 2008 > Finance reports detail cost of getting elected


Kootenai Valley Record. Photo by Kootenai Valley Record.
Kootenai Valley Record
Finance reports detail cost of getting elected
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
December 11, 2008

House District 1 winner Jerry Bennett was Lincoln County’s big spender in the 2008 election season, shelling out a total of $18,777.50 according to campaign finance reports filed with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.

Bennett spent $4,429.71 in the June Republican primary, in which he drew 1,051 votes to Susan Ague’s 171, Ginny Emerson’s 88 and Albert Ross Purviance’s 61. Reported expenses included $1,812.26 for a bulk mailing and $1,600 for signs.

For the general election, in which he defeated Democrat Eileen Carney, Bennett spent $14,347.79. Expenses included $9,410 for five separate mailings, $1,123 for cards and brochures, and $1,102.23 for signs.

Bennett received 2,413 votes in the general election to Carney’s 1,491, resulting in a cost per vote of $5.95.
Carney was unopposed in the primary and spent less than $300. She spent $7,254.08 in the general election, resulting in a cost per vote of $4.87.

Carney’s reported expenditures included $1,034.78 in newspaper advertising and $3,211.60 in radio ads.

In the race for House District 2, victorious Republican incumbent Chas Vincent spent $8,767.91 to Democratic challenger Tim Linehan’s $10,829.27.

Both candidates were unopposed in the primary. In the general election, Vincent drew 3,240 votes for a cost per vote of $2.70, while Linehan spent $6.55 for each of the 1,653 votes he received.

Vincent’s expenditures included $1,229.16 for signs, $3,549.45 for newspaper advertising, $832 for radio ads and $2,025.75 in printing costs.

Linehan spent $3,551.30 for signs, $2,765.69 for newspaper ads, $1,665 for billboards and $792.63 for printing and postage.

Tony Berget, who won a six-way race for the Republican nomination for county commissioner in June and went on to win in November against write-in candidate Jerry Okonski, spent $5,130.16 in the primary and another $2,933.27 in the general election.

Berget’s primary expenses included $2,054 in newspaper ads, $988 for radio ads, $918 for signs and $310.80 for mailings. His 765 votes cost $6.70 each.

Berget’s reported expenditures for the general election included $1,664.66 for newspaper ads and $840 for postage. He drew 5,433 votes for a cost of 54 cents per vote.
Okonski spent $2,075 in the primary and finished second with 723 votes for an average cost of $2.87 per vote. Reported expenditures included $475 for signs and $572.40 for radio ads.

Okonski spent $9,122 in the general election. Reported expenditures included $3,552.43 in printing and mailing costs, $1664 for newspaper ads, $405.90 for radio ads and $1,123.55 for signs. His 2,422 votes cost him $3.77 each.

The overwhelming majority of the dollars spent by local candidates came in the form of contributions from individuals and political action committees capped at $160 per candidate per election under state law. Bennett and Vincent also received $800 each for the general election from the county Republican central committee, which is the maximum allowed for a political party under the same law. Berget received $400 from the party committee for the general election.
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Editor’s Note: See the December 9, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, now on Tuesday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.


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