A Smart Politics analysis of 2009 Federal Elections Commission (FEC) data finds that DFL Congressman Keith Ellison has only received 6.4 percent of individual itemized funds contributed by members of his own 5th Congressional District to the state's eight U.S. House Representatives from January through September of this year.

That places the 2-term Congressman a distant 6th in fundraising within his own district. Both Republican Erik Paulsen and fellow DFLer Tim Walz have raised more than four times the amount of large donor money in the 5th CD as Representative Ellison.

Itemized individual donations are those totaling $200 or more per contributor for the election cycle to date.

Although the 5th CD ranks sixth in the Gopher State in terms of median household income (at $50,725 per year), Ellison's district has contributed the second largest amount of money to the state's eight U.S. Representatives this year.

Overall, the 5th Congressional District has contributed over $210,000 in large donor funds to the Minnesota U.S. House delegation. Residents of the 5th CD have contributed $65,000+ more in large donor funds than the much wealthier 2nd CD (which has a median household income of $73,284) and $80,000+ more in contributions than residents of the 6th CD (which has a median household income of $69,909).

Residents of Paulsen's 3rd CD set the pace with over a half a million dollars contributed to the state's eight U.S. House members so far this year.

Itemized Individual Income Contributed to Minnesota U.S. Representatives by District, January-September 2009

Despite the significant amount of money coming from the 5th CD this year, very little of this $200,000+ is being directed by residents to their own Congressman's campaign. Ellison has received just $13,400 of his nearly $200,000 in itemized individual contributions raised this cycle from 5th CD residents.

Erik Paulsen leads the way in the 5th with $58,364 in large donor money directed to his campaign, or 4.4 times as much money as Ellison has received from his own constituents.

And lest one believe that the only individuals giving large amounts of money in the Democratic-heavy 5th CD are Republicans, DFLer Tim Walz raised $57,570 through September in Ellison's district, or 4.3 times the rate of Ellison.

Republicans Michele Bachmann ($29,245) and John Kline ($26,315) rank 3rd and 4th in fundraising in the 5th district, with Betty McCollum in 5th place at $16,325.

Itemized Individual Income Contributed by 5th CD Residents to Minnesota U.S. Representatives, January-September 2009

As Smart Politics reported in April, July, and October of this year, the vast majority of Ellison's fundraising has come from out of state sources. In the first nine months of 2009, more than 84 percent of the $195,885 Ellison raised in itemized individual contributions have come from outside of Minnesota.

Moreover, the 6.4 percent of 5th CD money netted by Ellison is by far the lowest among Minnesota's U.S. Representatives in terms of the percentage of in-district contributions directed to their respective campaigns.

Four of the state's U.S. House members have netted more than half of the large donor contributions coming from their own district to the state's eight Representatives: Tim Walz (58.6 percent of 1st CD contributions), Collin Peterson (56.5 percent of 7th CD funds), Erik Paulsen (54.5 percent of 3rd CD contributions), and Michele Bachmann (51.8 percent of 6th CD donations).

Ellison's 6.4 percent of in-district funds also pales to the percentage of funds raised by John Kline (40.3 percent of 2nd CD contributions), Jim Oberstar (21.9 percent of 8th CD funds), and Betty McCollum (17.7 percent of 4th CD donations).

Percentage of Itemized Individual Donations to Minnesota U.S. House members Directed to That District's U.S. Representative, January-September 2009

Check back with Smart Politics all this week for more analysis of district-level fundraising data.

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But is this necessarily so? What do the elections in New Jersey and Virginia mean outside of these respective states? And how does the popularity of newly elected presidents seem to impact these races?

A Smart Politics analysis of historical election returns in the Garden and Old Dominion States finds that the two states have voted in tandum during the last five gubernatorial elections dating back to 1989 - and always electing the party which is not in control of the White House.

This is not good news for Democratic New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, who is fighting tooth-and-nail with Republican Chris Christie with independent Chris Daggett in the low double-digits.

Democrats swept the 1989, 2001, and 2005 elections in these two states - and were able to do so both when Republican Presidents were popular (George H.W. Bush at 57 percent approval on Election Day in 1989; George W. Bush at 84 percent in 2001) as well as unpopular (Bush at 42 percent approval in 2005).

Republicans, meanwhile, swept the 1993 and 1997 gubernatorial contests in the two states while Bill Clinton was in office - at both unpopular (in 1993, at 48 percent) and popular (in 1997, at 57 percent) periods of his presidency.

As such, it does not appear correct to attribute President Obama's middle-of-the-road approval ratings (in the low 50s), to any failures experienced by the Democratic Party on Tuesday in these two states.

Gubernatorial success by a political party in these states seems to be inversely correlated with the party controlling the White House and not correlated to the President's popularity, as such approval ratings have not demonstrated to be associated consistently with electoral success or failure of his party in gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia over the past 20 years.

And if there is a party sweep (by the GOP) on Tuesday, what does that tell us about how the midterm U.S. House elections will turn out in 2010?

Not much.

When the Democrats swept the gubernatorial contests in 1989 and 2005, they gained U.S. House seats in the following year's midterm elections (+7 and +31 seats respectively). However, after the Democrats swept the two races in 2001, they went on to lose 8 seats in the 2002 midterms.

As for the GOP, their sweep through New Jersey and Virginia in 1993 was followed by the 54-seat gain in the U.S. House in the 1994 Republican Revolution. However, their 1997 sweep was followed by a loss of 5 seats to the Democrats in 1998.

It should be noted that the Garden and Old Dominion States have not always voted in unison in gubernatorial elections. Democrats and Republicans each claimed one state in the elections of 1973, 1977, 1981, and 1985.

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Smart Politics reported yesterday that although PAC contributions to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann have been declining steadily over the past five quarters, contributions to her campaign by individuals have more than compensated for that decline, making her the biggest fundraiser in the Minnesota U.S. House delegation this cycle.

Since Bachmann first started raising federal campaign money in early 2005, she has received about two-thirds of her individual funds in the form of itemized, large donor contributions ($3.08 million, or 64.4 percent) and approximately one-third in the form of unitemized, small donor contributions ($1.7 million, or 35.6 percent).

While unitemized contributions are becoming an increasingly important tool for Bachmann in building her campaign warchest, only large donor ($200+) contributions provide detailed, itemized information.

Digging deeper into Bachmann's FEC filings to determine from where the Congresswoman's individual donors are coming, a Smart Politics analysis finds that Bachmann has received 3.3 times more out-of-state money from states carried by Barack Obama than states carried by John McCain since she took office in January 2007. Even after controlling for population, Bachmann has garnered 51.4 percent more money per capita from Obama states over McCain states during this 2.75 year span.

Since January 2007, Representative Bachmann has raised $1.95 million in individual itemized contributions from across the country, of which $1.37 million has come from residents inside the Gopher State (70.2 percent).

Of the $581,000+ in large donor contributions that have come from out-of-state, 76.5 percent ($444,824) came from states carried by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, while 23.2 percent ($135,246) came from states carried by John McCain. (Another 0.3 percent came from U.S. territories or residents from unidentified locales).

After adjusting the data for population based on the 2008 U.S. Census estimates, Obama states have given to Bachmann's campaign at a rate of $217.36 per 100,000 residents since 2007 compared to a rate of just $143.59 per 100,000 residents in states carried by John McCain. Overall, Bachmann has received 51.4 percent more large donor money per capita from Obama states than McCain states.

In fact, 10 of the top 12 locales contributing at the highest rate to Bachmann are in Obama Territory, led by the District of Columbia, which sets the pace at a rate of $688.37 per 100,000 residents.

Only the red states of Nebraska (#2, $583.15) and Wyoming (#4, $478.72) crack the Top 12, with deep blue states like Maryland (#3, $516.54), Illinois #7 ($324.57), Vermont (#8, $321.92), and California (#9, $279.57) all perched in the Top 10 in per capita contributions to one of the U.S. Houses' most conservative members.

Since being sworn in at the Capitol in January 2007, Rep. Bachmann has received large donor contributions from all but six states - five of them being McCain states (Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Utah, and West Virginia; New Mexico is the other).

Overall, not adjusting for population controls, Bachmann has received the most out-of-state money from California ($102,761), Florida ($66,000), Texas ($60,831), Illinois ($41,875), Virginia ($30,618), New York ($30,285), Maryland ($29,100), Washington ($17,285), and Wisconsin ($15,596).

The initial reaction to these findings might be to simply explain them away due to the fact that median household incomes are higher in Obama states than McCain states. The reasoning would be that there is a larger pool, per capita, of wealthy conservatives in Obama states who are in a position to contribute large sums to Bachmann's campaign than in McCain states.

This is an attractive theory at first blush. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey two-year average household income data for 2007-2008, households in Obama states ($54,967) had a 16.8 percent higher annual income than households in McCain states ($47,062).

Which brings us back to a report published last week at Smart Politics on another well-known Republican U.S. House member who has raised a lot of money outside his home state - South Carolina's Joe Wilson.

Wilson, who had a fundraising boon after shouting "You lie!" during President Obama's health care reform address to a joint session of Congress last month, raised $568,794 in large donor individual funds in Q3 2009.

A Smart Politics analysis of the nearly 1,200 itemized individual donors who sent Wilson contributions in the third quarter of 2009 finds that states that voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election contributed 83 percent more money per capita than those who supported Barack Obama.

Even after excluding the $95,300 raised by Wilson in his home state of South Carolina, McCain states (at $179.33 per 100,000 residents) still contributed at a 20.8 percent higher rate to Wilson than Obama states (at $148.45).

By contrast, in Q3 2009 Bachmann raised 30.6 percent more funds per capita in Obama states ($17.42 per 100,000 residents, excluding Minnesota) than McCain States ($13.34 per 100,000 residents).

In short, the annual household income data does not uniformly explain away the differences in per capita contributions between Obama states and McCain states when analyzing the fundraising of two of the nation's most well-known U.S. Representatives.

So what is driving Bachmann's particular appeal to financial contributors in Obama states? Is she perhaps receiving more support from Obama states, while Wilson reaps more rewards from McCain states, because of their respective gender?

Check back in to Smart Politics later this week for more analysis of Congresswoman Bachmann's fundraising data.

Out of State Per Capita Individual Large Donor Contributions to Michele Bachmann, Q1 2007 - Q3 2009

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U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann's latest fundraising haul - the 14th consecutive quarter of at least a quarter of a million dollars - stands out for the Congresswoman both for the impressive amount of money raised from small donors as well as the relatively scarce amount of funds raised from PACs.

In fact, the Q3 2009 PAC contributions to Bachmann's campaign were the lowest quarterly PAC receipts for the Congresswoman, as well as the lowest percentage of total quarterly funds raised, since Representative Bachmann first received the endorsement by Republicans in the 6th Congressional District back in May 2006.

Bachmann only received $31,402 from PACs last quarter - marking the fifth consecutive quarter in which her campaign has experienced a net decrease in PAC money. Bachmann received $192,471 from PACs in Q2 2008, $156,525 in Q3 2008, $135,900 in Q4 2008, $61,417 in Q1 2009, and $52,904 in Q2 2009.

The $31,402 was the lowest amount of PAC money Bachmann had received since Q1 2006 - the quarter before the Congresswoman was endorsed by the GOP in the 6th CD race.

By contrast, PAC money to fellow GOPer John Kline has increased in each quarter this year - from $50,000 in Q1 to $65,250 in Q2, to $78,400 in Q3, rising from 35 percent to 40 percent of his total fundraising along the way. PAC contributions to most of the other members of the Minnesota congressional delegation have fluctuated, going up and down throughout the year.

PAC money constituted only 9.1 percent of Bachmann's Q3 2009 funds - also marking the lowest percentage of total quarterly funds raised since her endorsement 3.5 years ago.

PAC money used to comprise a much larger percentage of Bachmann's overall campaign warchest - exceeding 50 percent of quarterly receipts two times, in Q2 2006 (53.4 percent) and Q2 2008 (50.3 percent), and greater than 40 percent two other times, in Q3 2006 (44.2 percent) and Q1 2007 (45.3 percent).

But Bachmann has more than compensated for what she may be lacking in PAC contributions by raising a record percentage of contributions from small donors in the last quarter. (Small donors, or unitemized individual contributions, are those of less than $200 for the campaign cycle to date).

The $193,838 in small donor contributions to Bachmann tallied 56.2 percent of her total Q3 2009 funds. This marks the largest percentage small donations have constituted to Bachmann's campaign since she first began raising federal campaign funds in early 2005.

The 56.2 percent raised by Bachmann in Q3 2009 represents a larger percentage than even the surge in small donor funds the Congresswoman's campaign enjoyed after her October 2008 appearance on Chris Matthews' Hardball program.

That cable TV appearance, which also proved to be a fundraising boon to her 2008 DFL opponent El Tinklenberg, paved the way for Bachmann to raise $570,643 in unitemized small donor contributions that quarter - or 53.2 percent of the total receipts to her campaign.

But there is also a political question raised by all these numbers. Why is Representative Bachmann receiving less and less money from organized special interests?

Two potential theories come to mind:

1) The boom in individual contributions to Bachmann's campaign is so large that she no longer needs to court special interest money, or

2) Special interests are becoming increasingly gunshy at contributing to the campaign of one of the most controversial members of Congress - particularly one with an increasingly national profile.

The timing of the decline in PAC money and increase in Bachmann's national profile is interesting to be sure. The fact that Bachmann's special interest money has declined quarter-by-quarter in the last two years - precisely at the time when the Congresswoman's national media appearances have increased - suggests the latter theory above might be in play.

Bachmann had only one national cable TV media appearance from the time of her 6th CD GOP endorsement in Q2 2006 for the next two years through Q2 2008. She has had nearly four dozen appearances thereafter, with her net PAC contributions declining each quarter.

Michele Bachmann PAC Funds Raised and National Cable TV Appearances by Quarter, Q2 2008 - Q3 2009

PAC money as a percentage of Bachmann's total campaign fundraising has also plummeted from 50.3 percent in Q2 2008, to 33.7 percent in Q3 2008, 12.7 percent in Q4 2008, 19.6 percent in Q1 2009, 18.6 percent in Q2 2009, and 9.1 percent in Q3 2009.

Then again, it's hard to call this trend a real problem for Bachmann. What politician wouldn't prefer to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from small donors as opposed to special interest PAC money? The former is the basis for some powerful campaign literature.

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(Previous installments of Smart Politics' 'Pathway to the Governor's Mansion' series include reports on the political experience and geographic background of successful gubernatorial candidates in Minnesota history).

The elections of the last two governors in the Gopher State have sent important, but different messages to the nation, with the common headline being that Minnesota politics is unpredictable and does not always follow the national trend.

The election (that few predicted) of a former professional wrestler and actor in 1998 (and a former satirist and actor for Senate in 2008) have lead some commentators to dismiss the state's political outcomes with the line, "Only in Minnesota."

Moreover, the (re)election of a Republican Governor in a light blue state during a deep blue Democratic tsunami in the 2006 midterms also signaled to the nation that Minnesotans speak with a voice of their own.

But the election of Jesse Ventura and Tim Pawlenty to St. Paul has also sent another message - to Minnesotans themselves. And that is a signaling that ethnic background is much less of an important variable in who governs the Gopher State.

Prior to the election of Ventura, 17 of the previous 18 Minnesota governors dating back to 1915 were either of full or partial Scandinavian ancestry.

In fact, other than Rudy Perpich (of Croatian descent) the only other governor who was not full-blooded Scandinavian during this span was the state's 25th Governor, Harold Stassen. Stassen was part Norwegian, German, and Czech.

Overall, of the 38 men who have served as Governor, 20 have a full-blooded Scandinavian ethnic background.

But while Norwegians may have the highest national and statewide profile of all the European settlers of the Gopher State (a profile enhanced nationally by the Minnesota Vikings and regionally by Lena and Ole jokes), the Swedes have actually had the most success in gubernatorial elections.

There have been nine governors of Swedish descent in Minnesota history, with all but one elected to office in the 20th Century - beginning with the state's 14th Governor, John Lind in 1898, and ending with Arne Carlson, who was first elected in 1990.

In between, seven other Swedish-Americans were elected governor: John Johnson, Adolph Eberhart, J.A.A. Burnquist, Luther Youngdahl, C. Elmer Anderson, Harold LeVander, and Wendell Anderson.

There have been seven Minnesota governors of Norwegian descent. The first Norwegian (and Scandinavian) Governor of the Gopher State was Knute Nelson, the 12th Governor of Minnesota who was elected in 1892.

It took 28 years before another Norwegian was elected - J.A.O. Preus in 1920. Over the next forty years another four governors of Norwegian descent were elected: Theodore Christianson in 1924, Elmer Benson in 1936, Edward Thye in 1944, and Karl Rolvaag in 1962. The last Norwegian to be elected Governor of the Gopher State was Al Quie in 1978.

Another three governors of Minnesota were of both Swedish and Norwegian descent: Floyd Olson (elected in 1930), Orville Freeman (1954), and Elmer Andersen (1960).

The only other ethnicity that has been represented in the Governor's mansion by more than one governor is English.

In the state's early years, as immigrants from Scandinavia were beginning to settle the land, five of Minnesota's first eight governors were of English descent: Henry Sibley, Henry Swift (who was not elected), Horace Austin, Cushman Davis, and John Pillsbury. The last governor of pure English descent was the 18th Governor, Winfield Hammond, who was elected in 1914 (and died in 1915).

Minnesota Governors by Ethnic Heritage

While no racial minority has been ever elected to the Governor's mansion in the Gopher State, recent years have reflected greater diversity in terms of European ethnic background. Each of the last five governors have a different ethnic heritage: Rudy Perpich is Croatian, Al Quie is Norwegian, Arne Carlson is Swedish, Jesse Ventura is Slovakian, and Tim Pawlenty is Polish and German.

In addition to the three governors of Norwegian-Swedish ethnic backgrounds mentioned above, Pawlenty joins a list of six other governors who had a background of more than one ethnicity - Alexander Ramsey (Scottish and German), William Marshall (Scottish and Irish), Lucius Hubbard (English and Dutch), Andrew McGill (Irish and English), William Merriam (Scottish and French), and Harold Stassen (Norwegian, German, and Czech).

List of Minnesota Governors by Ethnic Background

The diminishing importance of ethnic background in gubernatorial elections today can be seen by the fact that very few of the crop of 2010 candidates even mention their ethnic heritage on their campaign websites.

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For the third consecutive quarter, DFL Congressman Tim Walz relied more on "home grown" individual itemized (i.e. "large donor") contributions than any of the Gopher State's eight U.S. Representatives.

At 83.0 percent, Walz raised more of his $200+ quarterly individual contributions from Minnesotans than any of his fellow members of the state's U.S. House delegation. Walz also had the largest percentage of individual itemized contributions from Minnesota in Q2 (93.3 percent) and Q1 (92.8 percent).

Republican Erik Paulsen raised 78.9 percent of such contributions from in-state in the third quarter for his campaign, with fellow GOPer John Kline at 78.7 percent, DFLer Betty McCollum at 74.8 percent, and Republican Michele Bachmann at 59.3 percent.

In-State Itemized Individual Contributions to Minnesota U.S. House Delegation, Q3 2009

Paulsen actually raised the most net money from Minnesotans in individual itemized contributions for the quarter, as well as for the year to date. Paulsen has raised $461,979 in large donor contributions from Gopher State residents thus far in 2009, with Bachmann second ($296,705), Kline third ($217,040), and Walz fourth ($186,815).

Despite raising nearly $165,000 less than Paulsen in in-state individual itemized contributions for the year, Bachmann (at 556 donors) and Paulsen (at 557 donors) have had virtually the same number of such financial contributors.

The difference, however, is that the donations Bachmann has received from Gopher State residents have been in much more modest amounts (averaging $533.64) compared to Paulsen (averaging $829.41).

This reflects the general trend that Smart Politics has documented all year that Bachmann's support is much more 'grassroots' and from 'the folks' than any other Minnesota U.S. Representative. (With nearly half of Bachmann's individual contributions coming in the form of unitemized, small-donor amounts).

In-State Itemized Individual Contributions to Minnesota U.S. House Delegation, January - September 2009

On the flip side, DFLers Collin Peterson and Jim Oberstar only raised 17.0 percent and 13.9 percent of their individual itemized funds from Minnesotans in the third quarter respectively - not an unusual occurrence for U.S. Representatives with the status (and contacts) such House Committee chairs receive on the national stage. As observed by Smart Politics this summer, Oberstar actually received 100 percent of his large donor individual contributions from out-of-state in the second quarter of this year.

But the Minnesota U.S. Representative who received the lowest amount of home grown financial support from itemized individual donors this past quarter was Keith Ellison. Only 10.6 percent of Ellison's Q3 2009 itemized individual contributions came from Minnesota with 89.4 percent coming from out of state.

Ellison also received the largest percentage of out-of-state big money donors from the Minnesota delegation in the first quarter of the year (83.2 percent) and the second largest in the second quarter (80.4 percent), including 90 percent from outside of his 5th CD.

For the year, Ellison has raised money from the largest number of out-of-state big money donors (290) and 84.2 percent of his itemized individual campaign funds have come from outside the Gopher State, second only to Oberstar at 90.0 percent. Oberstar has collected the most funds, at $253,300.

Out of State Itemized Individual Contributions to Minnesota U.S. House Delegation, January - September 2009

But what is most striking about the yearly campaign finance numbers is that Ellison continues to raise money from Californians at nearly twice the pace from those in his home state.

In 2009, Ellison has raised $57,290 in individual itemized contributions from California, or 29.2 percent of his total large donor contributions. That is $26,000+ more than he has raised this year from Minnesotans ($31,000 or 15.8 percent).

Ellison has raised more money in California than Minnesota in each of the last two quarters. In the third quarter he raised $9,990 in California versus $7,950 in Minnesota. In the second quarter he raised $44,050 in California and just $18,650 in the Gopher State.

Rep. Ellison also raised more money in California than Minnesota in Q3 2007, Q4 2007, and Q1 2008, making the Golden State a bigger financial backer of Ellison than the Gopher State in 5 of the last 9 quarters.

In the third quarter of 2009, Ellison also received more in campaign contributions from individuals in New York ($18,500), Michigan ($11,050), and New Jersey ($10,800) than from those in Minnesota.

Keith Ellison Itemized Individual Campaign Contributions, January-September 2009

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The Republican Representative, who led the Gopher State by receiving $345,132 in contributions in the third quarter of 2009, received more than 90 percent of her campaign funds this quarter from individuals, with only 9.1 percent coming from political action committees (PACs).

Bachmann has raised a larger percentage of her campaign funds from individuals than any member of the Minnesota delegation in each quarter this year - with that percentage increasing each quarter: from 80.4 percent in Q1, to 81.4 percent in Q2, to 90.9 percent in Q3.

DFLer Keith Ellison raised the second largest percentage from individuals, with 79.0 percent of his $135,590 Q3 2009 funds coming from individuals and 21.0 percent from PACs.

Minnesota Representatives who were more reliant on PAC money last quarter include DFLers Collin Peterson (78.5 percent), Betty McCollum (51.8 percent), and Jim Oberstar (35.0 percent) and Republican John Kline (40.8 percent).

Since the beginning of the year, over 84 percent of Bachmann's funds have come from individuals, far more than any of her fellow Minnesota U.S. House members.

At $797,883, Bachmann has raised nearly $200,000 more from individuals than the nearest Gopher State U.S. Representative, Rep. Erik Paulsen at $603,847, and more than $475,000 greater than the nearest DFLer (Rep. Jim Oberstar at $321,603).

Amount and Percentage of 2009 Campaign Funds Raised from Individuals by Minnesota U.S. Representatives

By contrast, only 15.4 percent of Bachmann's funds in 2009 have come from special interest PAC money, and, at $145,725, that is the second lowest amount among the Minnesota U.S. House delegation.

Committee Chairs Collin Peterson ($303,850) and Jim Oberstar ($302,400) have raised more than twice that amount from special interests.

Amount and Percentage of 2009 Campaign Funds Raised from PACs by Minnesota U.S. Representatives

And just who are these individuals contributing to Bachmann?

As outlined in previous analyses by Smart Politics for Quarter 1 and Quarter 2, Bachmann is receiving a larger percentage (and gross amount) of her funds from small contributors - those 'regular folks' donating less than $200 for the cycle-to-date - than any member of the Minnesota U.S. House delegation.

That pattern has continued into the third quarter of 2009.

In fact, Bachmann is relying more and more on small donations to fund her campaign than ever before. In the third quarter, 61.8 percent of individual contributions to Bachmann were from small donations - up from 43.6 percent in Q2 and 31.8 percent in Q1.

These small, unitemized donations have totaled $375,222 for Congresswoman Bachmann in 2009 - which is more than the total small donor contributions made by individuals to all seven other members of the Minnesota U.S. House delegation combined ($374,594).

The $375,000+ raised by Bachmann from small donors is also more than the total individual (large donor and small donor) funds received by Walz, Kline, McCollum, Ellison, Peterson, and Oberstar respectively.

Amount and Percentage of 2009 Campaign Funds Raised from Small Donor (Unitemized) Individuals by Minnesota U.S. Representatives

And as for Bachmann's 6th District DFL hopefuls?

State Senator Tarryl Clark - who launched her campaign in late July - raised 39.6 percent of individual campaign contributions from small donors ($102,867), while Maureen Reed raised only 9.6 percent from small donors ($12,960).

Because small donor contributions are unitemized, it is impossible to glean from the FEC reports from where these contributions are being sent. Rep. Bachmann's prominence on the national cable TV news circuit suggests that a large amount may be coming in from out of state, as she becomes a leading national conservative figure.

However, the big money contributions that are pouring into the coffers of Minnesota's U.S. Representatives are itemized, and Smart Politics will analyze from where that money is coming in the next installment.

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