Washington Watch for Dec. 7, 2008

• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Washington Correspondent
• Published: Dec 7, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Laurinda Calongne couldn’t do the one thing that successful politicians consider the oxygen to staying in office.
She couldn’t ask people for money.

So the Baton Rouge consulting company owner spent $300,000 of her own money in a Republican bid to win the seat vacated by former Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Baker of Baton Rouge.

In Louisiana and throughout the nation, Calongne is not alone. She is one of seven Louisiana candidates who collectively spent close to $2.7 million of their own money seeking a House seat in Washington.

Such personal investment is a growing trend nationally as first-time candidates such as Calongne try to compete with the power of incumbency. With the aid of political action committees, incumbents appear to raise huge sums of cash  just by snapping their fingers.
But Calongne was in another category: a losing effort. Four of the six Louisiana candidates who funded their own campaigns — Calongne, Jeff Thompson,  Chris Gorman and Jim Harlan — lost.

“There are clearly some people who have unrealistic ideas of what money can buy in politics,” said David Wasserman, who tracks the House for The Cook Political Report in Washington.

Though critics may point to the trend as candidates trying to buy a seat in Congress, Louisiana hopefuls who spent their own money have no regrets, even if they lost, they said.

Calongne made it to the Republican runoff before losing to newspaper owner Woody Jenkins, who gained 62 percent of the vote. In her first political bid, Calongne felt obligated to spend her own money, she said.

“It was hard for me to go to friends and ask them to invest in me if I hadn’t invested in myself,” Calongne said. “When I started a business, did I go to my friends and ask them for money? No.”

The candidate who spent the largest amount for his campaign — more than $934,990 — was Republican Dr. John Fleming of Minden. The owner of 30 Subway stores had to fund three campaigns in his attempt to win the seat of retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery of Shreveport.

Fleming ended up in the general election after qualifying and winning the Republican primary and runoff, facing two other GOP candidates. Fleming didn’t hesitate in relying on his own money, he said.

One of his opponents was endorsed by McCrery and raised $422,169 from supporters, while the other was a Shreveport trucking company owner who spent $500,000 of his own money.

“When you’re on the outside, you want to have the advantage that insiders have,” Fleming said.

Fleming was so intent on keeping the seat in conservative hands that money wasn’t an object. “I think the personal investment translates with the voters,” Fleming said. “They recognize that.”