Interest groups, campaign committees and super PACs aren’t the only ones pumping Washington money into Minnesota’s 8th District congressional race.  

Through the colorfully named political action committees they establish once winning a seat on Capitol Hill, Democratic and Republican lawmakers from around the country have been donating heavily to Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack and DFL challenger Rick Nolan. The two have gotten sizable —or even maximum — donations from some of the biggest names in Washington, from John Boehner and Eric Cantor (for Cravaack) to Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer (for Nolan).

Lawmakers establish so-called “leadership PACs” once they come to Washington, and though they were once the markings of actual congressional leadership, the number of members with a PAC has grown precipitously over the last 20 years.

“It used to be that the members of the party’s leadership had them,” Vevica Novak, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsive Politics, said. “Now, everybody has one.”

$32 million to candidates

According to CRP, 406 leadership PACs donated $32 million to congressional candidates around the country through August. Cravaack is the only Minnesotan not to have a leadership PAC, but he’s received more than $150,000 from 50 fellow lawmakers through Oct. 17. Nolan has gotten $55,000 from 14 members.

As a total share of donations Cravaack and Nolan have received his cycle, leadership PAC money is pretty small, but it’s still well more than what other Minnesotans have brought in.

Through their PACs, members of Congress can send up to $10,000 to federal candidates around the country, and deep-pocketed ones, especially those in leadership, do just that. In Minnesota’s 8^th District, Cravaack has received $10,000 checks from the three top Republicans in the House (Boehner, Cantor and Texas’s Jeb Hensarling), as well as committee chairs David Camp and Paul Ryan. Democratic Rep. George Miller is the only member to give Nolan $10,000 (the two served together in the 1970s and 80s), though he’s received donations from Pelosi ($4,000), Hoyer ($5,000) and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz ($2,500), who chairs House Democrats’ campaign efforts.

Novak said members tend to send cash to candidates who need it, as well as those with whom they have good relationships. High-profile races garner attention from lawmakers when the control of Congress is up in the air, and would-be members of leadership tend to spread around a lot of money to win as many seats as they can — Boehner and Cantor have given around $2 million each this cycle, and Pelosi has topped $800,000.

“If there is a close margin for the majority in the House or the Senate, they’re simply looking to support as many people from their parties ad they can,” Novak said.

These are the top 10 contributions Chip Cravaack and Rick Nolan have received from congressional leadership PACs, those established by members of Congress to help others around the country. Cravaack and Nolan have raised more from fellow members of Congress than anyone else in Minnesota this fall.

Minnesotans donate

Members of the Minnesota delegation have chipped in to help out Cravaack and Nolan in what’s widely seen as the most competitive House race in the state this cycle. Nolan, for example, has gotten funds from Sens. Amy Klobuchar ($5,000) and Al Franken ($8,000), as well as Reps. Betty McCollum ($4,000) and Keith Ellison ($1,000).

Franken is the biggest donor among Minnesota Democrats, having given around $350,000 to candidates this cycle. Spokesman Ed Shelleby said Franken uses his Midwest Values PAC to “help Democratic candidates who he believes will enact good policy that improves the lives of working families in Minnesota and around the country. When choosing whom to support, Sen. Franken looks at each candidate and each race on a case-by-case basis.”

Cravaack, meanwhile, has gotten $10,000 from the leadership PACs of both Reps. John Kline and Michele Bachmann, and he’s gotten $5,000 from Erik Paulsen. Of thee three, Kline is most active helping others, sending $339,000 to Republican candidates around the country.

But Cravaack is one of only six candidates Bachmann’s PAC has given to this cycle. Her PAC (“Many Individual Conservatives Helping Elect Leaders Everywhere,” or MICHELE PAC for short) isn’t the fundraising juggernaut her congressional campaign is, but it’s still brought in $1.8 million this cycle. Bachmann campaign manager Chase Kroll said she uses that to support candidates who “share her values.”

“Because of Rep. Bachmann’s ability to raise a solid amount of money, we are in a position where we can give to other candidates,” he said. “Michele likes to help out other candidates who share her values. … She’s happy to help out Chip because they’re friends and colleagues in the Minnesota delegation.”

Here’s the Open Secrets dossier on leadership PAC giving to Cravaack (current through the end of August only). The top 10 donors for Cravaack and Nolan are listed above, based on Federal Election Commission data through Oct. 17.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry