Political Football

The latest Federal Elections Commission reports outlining Democrat-turned-Republican congressional candidate Peter Teahen’s finances indicates the Cedar Rapids funeral home operator has less support than meets the eye, a spokesman for Mariannette Miller-Meeks said today.For the campaign to date, Miller-Meeks campaign reported receipts of $68,835 and cash on hand of $68,619 compared to receipts of $65,773 and cash on hand of $34,090 for Teahen. However, when the same reports show Teahen’s committee is carrying at debt load of $31,664, which is the exact amount of money he has loaned to his campaign.“If it wasn’t for his own money, Peter Teahen’s campaign would have less than $2,500 on hand. By putting that much money into the campaign, he’s clearly trying to prop it up and make it appear that he has more support than he does.

Republicans have long memories, but in this case, a long memory isn’t necessary for Second District Republicans remember that Peter Teahen’s money has gone to Democratic candidates over the years,” Miller-Meeks campaign manager Todd Versteegh said.“He gave money to Jim Leach’s Democratic challenger, Julie Thomas, in 2002. He gave money to Michael Blouin, a Democrat candidate for governor just two years ago. And, he just changed his registration from Democrat to Republican in December before announcing his candidacy for Congress. It’s no wonder why he’s had to give so much money to his own campaign.”Versteegh added, “Our campaign is proud to have support from donors around the District, and we’re proud of our strength going into the critical final months of the campaign.

Dr. Miller-Meeks has proven she’s frugal with her campaign’s money, and that’s just what she’d do with our tax dollars in Washington, DC. She’s a fiscal conservative who doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk.”