Allyson Bird - Internship Diary

Dec. 6:

I wrote a story about the Alabama congressional delegation, which faced no real competition this year. Sen. Richard Shelby has $11 million already in the bank for his next run -- in 2010!

The Dothan newspaper asked me to look at Shelby's and Rep. Terry Everett's war chests. The obvious question, what will they do the leftover cash, had an obvious answer: keep it for next time. But it was interesting to see the figures on how a war chest can crush opposition. Shelby, who won with 68 percent, ended the campaign with more than $11 million; his opposition finished the race with less than $50. It's frightening.

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