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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., seen in his Washington, D.C., office last month, has stepped up his fundraising in recent months.
(Jeff Mapes|The Oregonian)
What do New York designer Diane Von Furstenberg, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, D.C. super-lobbyist Heath Podesta and a bunch of Oregon timber barons have in common?
The answer: They're all recent contributors -- along with hundreds of others -- to Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden's re-election campaign.
The Democratic senator went on a fundraising tear in the first three months, raising just over $1.3 million, most of it from out of state. That's close to the nearly $1.6 million he raised in all of 2014.
In a disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission, Wyden reported having nearly $3.5 million in the bank at the end of March.
Wyden, a 34-year veteran of Congress, has a lot of ways to attract campaign cash. As ranking Democrat on powerful Senate Finance Committee, he attracts a lot of donations from interest groups, lobbyists and executives involved with taxes, health care and trade, to name the major issues under the panel's jurisdiction.
He has also been working on legislation aimed at increasing logging on federal lands in western Oregon. While the timber industry has preferred a bill sponsored by three Oregon House members, Wyden has gained support from many timber executives who normally tend to lean toward Republicans.
Wyden's wife, Nancy, is a co-owner of New York City's famous Strand Book Store, and many of his contributions came from the metropolitan area -- which also happens to be the country's financial center.
The senator has also earned plaudits from many Silicon Valley executives who appreciate his support for an open Internet. In addition to receiving $1,000 from Craig Newmark, who founded Craigslist, he also picked up $5,300 from Google chairman Eric Schmidt.
From New York, Von Furstenberg has given Wyden $5,000 while Stacey Mindich, a Broadway producer, kicked in $5,400. Billionaire Barry Diller, one of the country's most well-known media figures, also gave $5,400.
Some of the financial firms and executives on his campaign disclosure reports are in the news themselves. He received contributions from an executive at Bain Capital, a firm co-founded by 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and an executive for one of the investment funds owned by financier Steven Cohen. The latter's company paid $1.2 billion in penalties to the Securities Exchange Commission last year for securities fraud.
Wyden also received numerous contributions from prominent business figures back in Oregon, ranging from Timbers owner Merritt Paulson to OHSU President Joe Robertson.
Particularly notable was the support he received from the timber industry. Members of the Giustina family, which has major wood-products operations based in Eugene, gave at least $25,000 to Wyden. Other major timber contributors included Allyn Ford of Roseburg and Stuart John Shelk, Jr. of Prineville.
Michael Berman, a longtime D.C. lobbyist who has been a longtime insider in the Democratic Party, gave $5,100 to Wyden's campaign. Heather Podesta, another Democratic insider who is one of the city's most prominent lawyer-lobbyists, gave $1,000.
--Jeff Mapes
503-221-8209
@Jeffmapes