Politics & Government

Pete Stark Pledges Personal Fortune to Beat Swalwell in 2014

One year later, Pete Stark is still smarting from the narrow electoral defeat that cost him his House seat after four decades in Congress. 

Stark, a millionaire, told CQ Roll Call this week that he will be spending a lot of money to help Ellen Corbett make sure Rep. Eric Swalwell has only one term. “I remember Eric, during the campaign against me, suggested that I was too old and inept to be of any value in the political process, so I am going to see if I can prove that to be wrong,” Stark told Roll Call.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s political blog asks whether the power of Stark’s fortune will outweigh the potential negatives that could accompany his endorsement of Corbett.

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CQ Roll Call linked to an East Bay Citizen post showing how Swalwell has already used Stark's enduring influence as a fundraising tool. 

According to the Federal Election Commission, Swalwell raised $781,051 between the first of the year and Sept. 30, of which $471,000 came from individual donors and $309,000 from political action committees.

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During the same period, Corbett raised $65,000, including $2,000 from Stark’s re-election committee.

Both articles noted that California's so-called jungle primary, in which the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party, places fellow Democrats in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between colleagues. 

What do you think? Will Stark's involvement hurt Corbett, or help her? 


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