FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 24, 2008

Mike Livingston and his opponent, Chaka Fattah, recently filed quarterly statements with the Federal Election Commission. The reports say much about the candidates and their campaigns.

Livingston’s report, filed April 15, shows $10,150 in contributions, all but $1,000 of them from individual supporters. While modest compared to some districts, this represents the largest sum raised this early by any recent Republican candidate in the Second District, and is close to the largest amount that any other challenger has raised in the entire election cycle. (Full information is available at www.fec.gov; to access the quarterly report, punch in the name of the candidate and follow the prompts for committee information and report history).

By contrast, Fattah reported receipts of $129,392 of which more than three-quarters ($98,500) consists of PAC contributions. The size of contributions was also revealing: the Fattah data, which include the latter part of 2007, do not include a single individual contribution of less than $500, while Livingston (like Barack Obama) relies principally on small contributions.

“The quarterly FEC reports demonstrate the issues at stake in this election and the importance of change in the Second District,” said Livingston in a prepared statement. “While characterizing himself as a champion of the weak and oppressed, Chaka Fattah remains one of the members of Congress most dependent on PAC money and on contributions from lawyers, lobbyists, and others with an interest in the political process. He is a charter member of the pay-to-play culture that I am trying to change.”

The next quarterly reports are due July 15.