Heinz donations go to Bush, not Kerry

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Although John F. Kerry's wife is an heir to the H.J. Heinz Co. fortune, members of the board of the Fortune 500 company and its corporate political action committee have donated thousands of dollars to Republicans in recent years, including contributions to the Bush campaign. The corporate PAC has given nothing to Kerry. Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized the Pittsburgh-based company's job cuts and overseas moves -- an effort to taint the presumptive Democratic nominee with the conglomerate's business practices. Teresa Heinz Kerry gained much of her $500 million portfolio through her Heinz inheritance, but she does not serve on the board and is not involved with the management of the company. (AP)

Bush spent record $50m last month

President Bush added record spending to his list of presidential fund-raising firsts last month, using most of a $50 million campaign blitz to air ads targeting rival John F. Kerry. Nearly all of Bush's ad spending last month -- about $40.8 million -- went to Maverick Media, an admaking firm run by Bush media adviser Mark McKinnon, a campaign finance report Bush filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission shows. In all, Bush has spent at least $99 million since officially starting his reelection effort last May. In addition to ad spending, the president has devoted at least $19 million to mailings, voter lists, and other related costs. (AP)