Money From Outside Groups Pours In For Governor’s Race

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(Host) With three weeks to go before Election Day, outside groups have spent more than $500,000 running TV spots in Vermont’s gubernatorial campaign.

Political observers say this is happening because there’s no incumbent running in the race this year and the winning candidate could be in office for a number of terms.

VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.

(Kinzel) The Republican Governors Association and an organization known as Green Mountain Prosperity have together spent just over $400,000 dollars buying TV time supporting Republican Brian Dubie.

Meanwhile, a group known as Green Mountain Future, with support from the Democratic Governors Association, has been running TV spots backing Democratic candidate Peter Shumlin.

They’ve spent roughly $185,000 dollars on ads that highlight what they say is Dubie’s support of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant.

Bill Grover is a political science professor at St. Michael’s College. He’s not surprised by all this outside money.

(Grover) "I think that the fact that this is an open seat virtually guaranteed that we would have high if not record sums of money spent for this race on both sides. I’m a little surprised that the Republicans are doing better than two to one to the Democrats in terms of money, but it doesn’t surprise me at all that the totals are astronomical."

(Kinzel) Early voting is now underway in Vermont and Grover thinks it could be having an impact on decisions involving TV spending.

(Grover) "Because if you can vote early you need to get to them earlier and you’re not sure when they’re going to vote so I think that the impetus is to have money on the table quickly is greater."

(Kinzel) It’s illegal for the outside groups to coordinate their activities with any of the campaigns but UVM political science professor Garrison Nelson thinks a connection is inevitable.

(Nelson) "Outside money means outside management – that’s really what it means. It’s not that you’re quote ‘beholden to outside interests’, but if your external money is going to lead to the arrival in the state of people who will want to take over your campaign."

(Kinzel) And Nelson thinks there’s a potential downside for a candidate who receives a lot of financial support from outside groups.

(Nelson) "That means they’re going to have to campaign very hard and campaign very negative and my guess is this is what’s happened to the Dubie campaign and this is where Brian Dubie has to be very careful, because his great stock in trade has been his likability."

(Kinzel) Nelson says he won’t be surprised if both the Republican and Democratic outside groups spend a lot more money on TV advertising in the final weeks of the campaign.

For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.

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