Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff fought to clarify comments from his campaign manager Tuesday that they would accept money from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — which operates partly on cash from political-action committees.
Romanoff has built his primary campaign largely on shunning special-interest money. He has regularly criticized his opponent, incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet, because he accepts PAC money.
Yet Romanoff campaign manager Bill Romjue told a political news website Tuesday that the candidate would accept money from the DSCC if he advanced past the primary.
“You can always find an ivory-tower person that’s completely pure,” Romjue said to Politico. “We’re not an ivory-tower person. Andrew’s going to be funded by individuals, but of course we’ll accept money from the DSCC.”
Romanoff later sent out a statement to clarify his stance, saying: “I vowed to ask the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to exclude any PAC dollars from contributions or expenditures it makes on my behalf.”
Bennet’s campaign seized on the statements, calling Roma noff a flip-flopper.
“You cannot find better evidence that Andrew is a dishonest, career politician than his admission that he would undermine his entire campaign platform, and presumably his beliefs, in order to win,” said Bennet spokesman Trevor Kin caid. “Some Coloradans have cast their ballots based on this commitment that Andrew has now gone back on.”
Polls showed the two candidates virtually tied a week before the Aug. 10 primary.
Romanoff spokesman Roy Teicher further clarified the campaign’s DSCC stance later on.
“We’d seek a dedicated fund that there only be personal contributions in it,” he said. “This way we would be able to honor the no-PAC pledge.”
Denver-based political consultant Eric Sondermann, who is not advising candidates in the Senate race, compared that to parsing the “definition of virginity.”
“Money is fungible,” Sondermann said. “That’s silly and illusory.”
The Washington, D.C.-based DSCC operates as a committee whose purpose is to help Democrats win election to the U.S. Senate. It operates on contributions from individuals, lobbyists and special-interest PACs.
In June, the organization received $1.17 million from PACs, including $69,500 from banks and insurance companies, $5,000 from the MillerCoors PAC and $40,500 from nine committees formed by lobbying firms.
Customarily, the committee endorses incumbents, and it has given roughly $71,000 to Bennet.
“Mr. Romanoff is getting a little ahead of himself,” said DSCC spokesman Eric Schultz. “He first needs to compete in his own primary, in which we are supporting Michael Bennet.”
Should Romanoff win the primary next week, Teicher said, he believes the DSCC would quarantine individual contributions from PAC money to help Romanoff because the organization would want him to win in November.
Teicher pointed out that the DSCC did a similar favor for President Barack Obama, who came to town and held a fundraiser for Bennet in which he didn’t accept any PAC money.
“If it’s all in one tub, we’re not going to accept it,” Teicher said. “They’ll re-evaluate their stance because it will be in their best interests for a Democrat to hold on to this seat.”
Romanoff, who as Colorado House speaker ran his own PAC, regularly pounds the message that there is an “unholy” money trail in Washington among politicians who accept special-interest money.
“I’ve been very specific in this campaign,” Romanoff said in a Denver Post/9 News debate Saturday. “There is just no reason that some of the most powerful corporations in the world … no reason those companies would spend millions and millions of dollars in congressional campaigns if they didn’t get something in return.”
Colorado State University political-science professor John Straayer said Romanoff is between “a rock and a hard place.”
“He’s been trying to differentiate himself to get traction to be Mr. Clean and not accept special-interest money,” Straay er said. “But the reality is, if you’re going to be competitive in a general election, you’re going to need a load of cash. That always means you’re going to take money where you can take it.”
Staff writer Burt Hubbard contributed to this story.
Allison Sherry: 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com
