Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May-June 2009, page 32

Election Watch

Mark Kirk Eyes Obama Senate Seat, Shelley Checks With Mort

By Janet McMahon

It’s undoubtedly no accident that pro-Israel PACs gave Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) more contributions than were received by all but two senators running for re-election in 2008 (and both of whom were in dire straits). Kirk reportedly is contemplating a run for the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama and currently occupied by Sen. Roland W. Burris, appointed by Illinois’ disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But Kirk’s credentials apparently are not quite good enough for Rep. Shelley Berkeley (D-NV), the House’s career queen of pro-Israel PAC contributions. Regarding a nonbinding resolution criticizing UNRWA introduced by Kirk and Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ), Berkeley said, “I was delighted when [they] introduced it—but first I called Mort [Zionist Organization of America President Morton A. Klein] to make sure it was strong enough before I signed on.”

Janet McMahon is managing editor of the Washington Report.

HOUSE: 2008 CYCLE   SENATE: 2008 CYCLE Kirk, Mark S. (R-IL) $91,200   Coleman, Norm (R-MN) $147,000 Engel, Eliot (D-NY) 55,500   McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) 107,956 Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 54,000   Landrieu, Mary (D-LA) 76,000 Cantor, Eric (R-VA) 47,500   Smith, Gordon H. (R-OR) 72,000 Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) 43,850   Levin, Carl (D-MI) 69,850 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln (R-FL) 39,000   Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ) 68,500 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 37,750   Chambliss, C. Saxby (R-GA) 57,000 Klein, Ron (D-FL) 37,300   Collins, Susan (R-ME) 52,500 Burton, Dan (R-IN) 33,500   Reed, Jack (D-RI) 51,500 Knollenberg, Joseph K. (R-MI) 33,500   Cornyn, John (R-TX) 51,000       Roberts, Pat (R-KS) 51,000           House: Career   Senate: Career Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) 290,055   Levin, Carl (D-MI) 728,737 Engel, Eliot (D-NY) 235,418   Harkin, Thomas R. (D-IA) 552,950 Kirk, Mark S. (R-IL) 221,082   *Specter, Arlen (R-PA) 503,473 Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 193,275   Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ) 502,578 Cantor, Eric (R-VA) 176,230   McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) 485,141 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 163,740   Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL) 372,421 Obey, David R. (D-WI) 160,600   Lieberman, Joseph (I-CT) 366,351 Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 149,238   Baucus, Max (D-MT) 348,648 Levin, Sander M. (D-MI) 128,727   *Reid, Harry (D-NV) 320,301 Burton, Dan (R-IN) 120,500   *Wyden, Ronald (D-OR) 277,562                 *up for re-election in 2010

Click here for the complete PAC Charts. (92KB pdf)

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