Money from political action committees accounted for almost 25 percent of the nearly $25 million raised during the first half of the year for 1994's 34 Senate races, campaign finance reports show.
Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, received $474,027 of the $6 million doled out by the PACs, more than any other candidate.Moynihan's campaign brought in $767,474 in individual donations and has more than $1.5 million in cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.
From Jan. 1 through June 30, contributions from individuals accounted for $17 million, or 69.2 percent of the total raised by the 52 candidates so far, the FEC reported Monday. PAC money totaled $6 million and represented 24.5 percent of the receipts.
The FEC said contributions during the first half of 1993 were running behind previous years.
In addition to the $25 million raised and the $7 million spent by the candidates during the first half of 1993, another $11.5 million was raised and $10.8 million spent by the two candidates in the special election held in Texas.
Virtually all the PAC money went to incumbent lawmakers.
"The question and the concern is, do these contributions mean that the senator will represent the special interests as opposed to his constituents?" said Joshua Goldstein, who tracks campaign finance issues for the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.
Several incumbents have accepted no PAC money. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has raised $2.2 million this year, all from individuals, and Maine's George Mitchell collected $1.5 million solely in individual donations.