Griffith Still Has Democrats’ Cash

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A message for congressional Democrats who contributed to Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.) last year before he bolted the party: If you want your money back, you have to ask.

The man who enraged Democrats in late December by announcing his decision to become a Republican is still sitting on $20,000 in campaign contributions from Democratic lawmakers.

According to Griffith’s campaign, it’s money that Democratic donors simply have not asked him to return. “The Griffith campaign has returned contributions to any individual or political action committee that made a contribution for the 2010 election and requested that they be returned,” campaign spokeswoman Heather Johnson said in a statement.

The list of Democratic contributors that Griffith has so far not refunded includes some unlikely supporters for a man now trying to battle through a three-way Republican primary. He’s still got money from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel , who cut a $2,000 check from his leadership PAC last January; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez (N.Y.), who contributed $2,000 from her campaign account; Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), a close confidant of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) who gave him $1,000 from her campaign; and House Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (Tenn.), who forked over $1,000 each from his leadership PAC and campaign account, federal election records show.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003644711