On Saturday, Heather Beaven’s mother-in-law tipped her over the $100,000 mark in contributions for Beaven’s congressional run against John Mica in the 7th congressional district. “Big milestone,” Beaven called it on her Facebook page. But still a fraction from the money mastodon of the Mica machine.
Beaven will need to do a lot better than six figures if she hopes to make the contest more of a PR campaign for her other endeavors (as no-chance candidates often do: running for office is sheer marketing, even, and especially, in a lost cause). Beaven, 41, is a Palm Coast resident and head of a non-profit, state-funded agency that helps at-risk students. Mica, 67, is a nine-term incumbent who was first elected in 1992, the year Bill Clinton was elected and two years before the Congressional election that returned Republicans to the majority for the first time in 40 years.
For all his rather hard-right, party-line Republicanism, an unremarkable (if unfailingly amiable) personality and an even less remarkable political imagination, Mica has been winning his elections with 60 percent of the vote or more in the past five elections (he was unopposed in 2004 and 1998).
Victories like that aren’t secured without winning large chunks of independents and some of the opponent’s party faithfuls. Mica does that by being a junior Robert C. Byrd. He doesn’t bring bacon home. He builds the roads that truck it in. And now he’s on a tear to build rail, too, finding in rail an excellent opportunity to make greens love him.
Beaven in comparison is an unknown outside of education’s administrative circles, and even then, her name circulates mostly in connection with grant applications for her educational foundation, of which her husband is also an executive.
This page will keep track of the Beaven-Mica race through November, updating various campaign finance figures as they become available. Check back in the next day or so for additional charts. figures are based on the last report, filed March 31. The data is drawn from OpenSecrets.org. The clunkers in the headline, incidentally, does not refer strictly to Mica and Beaven (he’s more of a surprisingly efficient Yugo–one of the few still on the road–she’s more Toyota with surprises) but to anyone willing to associate with an institution that garners lower approvals than just about any other institution in the country. Clunkers is putting it mildly.
Mica-Beaven: Where their Money Comes From
| As of March 31, 2010 | John Mica | Heather Beaven |
|---|---|---|
| PAC contributions | $354,524 (63%) | $16,450 |
| Individual contributions | $188,804 (33%) | $64,429 |
| Self-financing | $0 | $0 |
| Other | $22,108 (4%) | $1,768 |
| In-state | $35,200 (43%) | $11,180 (73%) |
| Out of state | $46,169 (57%) | $4,090 (27%) |
Their Best Friends
Here are each candidates’ top contributors. Beaven’s contributors include an odd $1,000 donation from the “State of Florida.” The state isn’t in the habit of supporting political candidates.
John Mica's Top Contributors
| HDR Inc | $7500 |
| Boeing Co | $6500 |
| Harris Corp | $6000 |
| Honeywell International | $6000 |
| American Maritime Officers | $5500 |
| Lockheed Martin | $5500 |
| Air Line Pilots Assn | $5000 |
| Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn | $5000 |
| American Assn of Airport Executives | $5000 |
| American Council of Engineering Cos | $5000 |
| American Crystal Sugar | $5000 |
| American Road & Transport Builders Assn | $5000 |
| Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp | $5000 |
| FedEx Corp | $5000 |
| Florida Transportation Builders Assn | $5000 |
| Jacobs Engineering Group | $5000 |
| National Beer Wholesalers Assn | $5000 |
| Norfolk Southern | $5000 |
| Raytheon Co | $5000 |
| Siemens AG | $5000 |
| Union Pacific Corp | $5000 |
| United Parcel Service | $5000 |
| United Transportation Union | $5000 |
Heather Beaven's Top Contributors
| Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $5,000 |
| National Air Traffic Controllers Assn | $5,000 |
| ActBlue | $3,900 |
| Corinthian Colleges | $2,500 |
| Joan Hornig | $2,400 |
| George Barth, Photography & Design Services | $2,340 |
| Andrew Shore | $1,200 |
| Jimmy Koeninger | $1,000 |
| Linda Gelfond | $1,000 |
| Fla. State Sen. Jeremy Ring | $1,000 |
| Donnie Read | $1,000 |
| Women Under Forty PAC | $1,000 |
| Lewis Cullman | $1,000 |
| Charles Garney | $1,000 |
| Aaron Gliech | $1,000 |
| James W. Babcock | $1,000 |
| Andrew Crowley | $1,000 |
| Michael Langton | $1,000 |
| Andrew Rose | $1,000 |
| Walter Umphrey | $1,000 |
| Will Weinstein | $1,000 |
Winning With Lots of Money (or Less)
Mica’s run of victories include a 60 percent win in 2002 despite the best-financed campaign by an opponent in Mica’s nine races to date. Wayne Hogan, a millionaire lawyer from S. Augustine, put up $4.5 million of his own money to Mica’s $1.4 million. That year, redistricting added more Democrats in District 7. It made no difference in Mica’s race.
The graph below shows the money race between Mica and his opponents in the past five electoral cycles.
anne geggis says
Oh, OK, I see how this works. I couldn’t see the box and clicking on “post comment” had me denied. Love this kind of reporting. It’s easy to see why Beaven’s a little edgy… She doesn’t have much to lose.
Catherine Klasne says
How does she say her name? Rhymes with heaven or rhymes with heavin’? I’m following her on some social media, but I think I’m going to spend more time on helping my Kosmas stay seated.
Jim R. says
Mica took a strong anti- NAFTA stand, I admire him for that , and his position on rail, but he sure has some smelly contributors to his campaign.
elaygee says
How can you trust a man like Mica who wears a dead rat on his head and expects you to think its his hair? Does he think we’re all idiots or is he so powerful that he demands we acknowledge it as hair? Either way, enough of the King of Sleaze. Time for a new face in DC, Beaven in Seven.
Diane in Lake Mary says
For many years I have written John Mica, my representative in Congress, about various issues, only to receive a standard form letter, to my disappointment. Then two years ago, before his re-election in 2008, Mica held a phone town hall meeting which I participated in. Mica’s people chose me to ask a question thinking I was a guy named Jerry (the resident who owned our home before us). When I questioned John Mica about his position on energy policy and offshore oil drilling, I was cut-off. I and everyone else was only able to listen to him. I was unable to rebut his reply. Very deceitful was he disallowing me, his own constituent, from having a conversation, openly, about a very important issue in front of my community and his constituents. That was solid evidence of how dishonest John Mica really is.
Heather Beaven on the other hand is a Navy Veteran who does not answer to special interests. She heads up a Florida educational non-profit. She is all about what is right and not her own pocketbook. Please consider donating to Heather Beaven’s campaign, even if you’re not in this district, and forward this to your friends. She deserves your support. Vote for her in November. Heather Beaven has promise, tenacity and she’s articulate. Not only is she worth voting for as your (a) representative in Congress, Mica’s worth voting out!–If only for his big corporate ties; in fact the transportation industry and corporate money is what has kept him in for 18 years.
I like Heather Beaven. Check her out. Decide for yourself.
http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/2010/06/08/oil_spill_centerpiece_of_campaign_against_rep._john_mica
http://staugustine.com/opinions/2010-06-17/letter-beaven-will-represent-all-interests
http://www.beavenforcongress.com/aboutme.html
Florida’s District 7 covers the region from St. Augustine to Winter Park.
beavenfan says
I volunteer for Beaven for Congress. To answer Catherine, it rhymes with Heaven. Anne, she has much to lose. 20 months out of her life to be exact. 20 months spending more time away from her husband and daughters than she would like, but she thinks this election is very important….when she saw how wrong her opponent was, she couldn’t help but run. That’s what she’s done all her adult life. Try to make things better and right wrongs.