E-Mail This Article to a Friend CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS Follow the money-makers BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

People have been pouring money into a Republican fund intended for upcoming Massachusetts congressional races — and perhaps more important, a potential upcoming US Senate race. But it’s not gay-marriage opponents filling those coffers, it’s venture capitalists. And the money they’re giving isn’t going to individual electoral battles, but to cover the costs of the state-party budget.

According to Federal Election Commission reports, the Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, a federal PAC, has raised $2,665,276 so far in the 2003-’04 political cycle. Of that, the Boston Phoenix has calculated, at least $720,000 has come from contributors who work for venture-capital and other investment firms. That’s more than a quarter of the total — and doesn’t even include money-managing executives at insurance and real-estate firms, who have also been big donors to the committee.

Because it funds campaigns for federal office, the State Congressional Committee follows federal contribution laws, which allow donors to give up to $10,000 a year to the PAC. As a result, contributors can give far more than they can to individual campaigns or even to the Massachusetts Republican Party, which fall under state campaign-finance laws.

In the first five months of this year, at least 20 venture capitalists have ponied up that maximum, including representatives of venture-capital firms Advent International, Boston Capital, Greylock Management, HarbourVest Partners, J.W. Childs Associates, RA Capital Associates, Summit Partners, TA Associates, T.H. Lee Co., Weston Presidio Capital, and Windspeed Ventures.

And, of course, Mitt Romney’s former firm, Bain Capital. At least nine people from Bain have contributed this year. Last year, five Bainsters gave the full 10k: Steven Barnes, Edward Conard, John Connaughton, Paul Edgerly, and Robert White.

Fidelity has been very good to the PAC as well — led by annual $10,000 checks from company president Abigail Johnson herself. At least 39 Fidelity Investment employees have given a total of roughly $81,000 since the start of ’03.

Don’t assume that the Republicans have a lock on venture-capital money, though; Massachusetts Democrats get plenty from these companies as well. In fact, many of the same individuals who give to the Republican State Congressional Committee have also contributed to John Kerry’s campaign.

Normally the State Congressional Committee’s funds go to support federal-office candidates; examples include Charles McCarthy Jr. in his losing bid to unseat US Representative Marty Meehan in 2002, and Peter Torkildsen’s 1998 rematch with US Representative John Tierney. But no current congressional candidate has inspired the committee to give a dime during this cycle. Instead, the committee has been spending its funds on consultants, staff, and office expenses that are really doing more for Republicans in state races than in congressional ones — meaning that the $10,000-limit PAC is essentially providing a way around individual limits on state-party giving. The federal PAC has even been paying the salaries of former state GOP executive director Dominick Ianno, current executive director Tim O’Brien, finance director Steven Roche, and other staff.