U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett is a 'party animal' for donors

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, may look like Ichabod Crane and speak with all the sleepy excitement of a banker, but he is one of the biggest party animals in Congress.

The Sunlight Foundation reports that he ranked No. 5 out of the 535 members of Congress for the number of political fundraisers he held this year: 29.

Those are meals or receptions where supporters and lobbyists pay up to $5,000 each to meet, or party, with the senator. The Sunlight Foundation, a government watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., tries to track as many congressional fundraisers as possible and even posts copies of invitations to most of them online.

Bennett is among fundraising leaders in part because he is being challenged for re-election next year by numerous conservatives who contend he is not conservative enough. So Bennett has been raising money furiously and even spent a whopping $545,000 from just July through September as he works to organize statewide and woo state GOP convention delegates.

Probably the biggest and best-known fundraiser for Bennett was an April 7 event with former presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

The invitation said the cost for a roundtable discussion and photo opportunity with Romney cost $2,400 per person or $2,500 per political action committee (PAC). Tickets to just attend the lunch with Romney were $1,000 per person or PAC.

Bennett held some fundraisers that were creative, including a "Flies and Drives" event in August, featuring both fishing and golfing with the senator in Park City. The cost, according to the invitation, was $3,000 per PAC or $2,000 per person, but PACs could be listed as sponsors for $5,000.

For the same price of attendance, Bennett also held a "Winter Weekend" for donors in Park City from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22.

Most of Bennett's fundraisers were held in Washington, D.C., and were hosted or sponsored by individual lobbyists or large lobbying firms. Some special-interest groups also held fundraisers for him, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers, the National Mining Association (assisted by Rio Tinto and Arch Coal) and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.

Bennett's favorite site for a fundraiser was the Charlie Palmer Steak House in Washington, where he held six events. His next favorite was Johnny's Half Shell, also in Washington, where he held three.

According to what the Sunlight Foundation identified, Bennett had more than twice as many fundraisers as the rest of the Utah delegation combined.

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, had six during the year, all of them in Washington. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, held four, including a skeet shoot in Maryland and a breakfast in Washington hosted by the food supplement industry. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who does not face re-election until 2012, held three fundraisers.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, did not hold any fundraisers this year, at least none found by the Sunlight Foundation.

This story was reported from Salt Lake City.

e-mail: lee@desnews.com