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May 27, 2005
Washington, DC — (AP) Senate candidates Mark Kennedy, Amy Klobuchar and Patty Wetterling each list assets of less than $1 million in financial disclosure forms while a fourth candidate said his assets and liabilities both exceed $50 million, according to an Associated Press review.
Kennedy, Klobuchar and Wetterling revealed their assets in financial disclosure reports this week. Kelly Doran, a real estate developer, has not filed his report but provided the AP with an estimate of his wealth.
Doran's wealth could play a big role in the race because he says he will be putting some of his own money into the campaign. But a "millionaire's amendment" included in the 2002 campaign finance law will limit that advantage.
Non-incumbent candidates must file their disclosure forms by May 15 or within 30 days of declaring their candidacy, whichever is later. Doran and Ford Bell, both Democrats, entered the race late and so have not filed their forms yet. Bell, president of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, told the AP that his assets and liabilities are both between $1 million and $5 million.
The forms do not require candidates to list the exact values; instead, the figures are reported in broad ranges.
Kennedy, a Republican U.S. House member, listed assets that totaled between $315,000 and $650,000, including five mutual funds worth between $50,000 and $100,000. He and his wife also list land worth between $50,000 and $100,000.
He listed liabilities totaling between $350,000 to $750,000, including a mortgage and home equity loan.
Klobuchar, a Democrat and Hennepin county attorney, listed assets that totaled between $163,000 and $695,000, including 10 401(k)s and mutual funds each worth between $15,000 and $50,000. She listed no liabilities.
Democratic candidate Patty Wetterling, a children's safety advocate, had assets worth between $180,000 and $450,000. She and her husband listed joint ownership of a business office in St. Joseph, Minn., worth between $50,000 and $100,000. She listed one liability, a college loan for her son, of between $15,000 and $50,000.
Doran, who said that his liabilities are in real estate mortgages, plans to fund his campaign with a combination of his own money and fund-raising.
"I will put in what's necessary to get me through the primary," he said.
Norm Ornstein, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said the millionaire's amendment will limit Doran's financial advantage. The amendment raises contribution limits for candidates whose opponents finance their own campaigns and outpace them in spending.
"What it means is it's no longer easy for an unknown multimillionaire to come in and buy a nomination, because other candidates are going to get compensating resources if you spend a lot of your own money," Ornstein said.
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