More than 350,000 Realtors contributed to the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) last year, which is a record 44 percent of NAR members.

RPAC is again the largest political action committee in the country, having raised a record $6 million in receipts and distributed a record $3.9 million in direct contributions to federal candidates this cycle (2001-2002). RPAC supported 30 U.S. Senate candidates and 422 candidates for the House of Representatives this past cycle. An astounding 432 out of these 452 candidates won their races, giving RPAC a 96 percent winning streak. RPAC?s contributions were pretty evenly split between both parties, with 53 percent of contributions going to Republican candidates and 47 percent going to Democrats.

"This record level of RPAC participation demonstrates that Realtors are among the most politically active and engaged citizens in this country. We represent participatory democracy at its best," said NAR President Cathy Whatley. "RPAC's contribution breakdown of giving 53 percent to Republicans and 47 percent to Democrats reflects the current partisan make-up of Congress. This shows that Realtor values mirror those of America. It also serves to remind folks that Realtor issues cross party lines. Our record RPAC success sends a clear message to both parties that Realtors can't be taken for granted. We work with both Republicans and Democrats to promote the health of the real estate market."

One of the major issues that sparked the record RPAC participation among members was their concern that big banking conglomerates might be allowed to enter the real estate business, she explained. Whatley also credited the tremendous work of 2002 RPAC Fundraising Chair Larry Von Feldt and 2002 RPAC Chair Dick Crosby.

As part of NAR's Opportunity Race Program, RPAC sent direct mail pieces to over 325,000 Realtors informing them of the RPAC-supported candidate in 88 House and Senate races, winning a total of 78, or 89 percent, of these races. In addition, RPAC spent $1 million in hard dollar independent expenditures on behalf of select federal candidates.

Published: January 17, 2003

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