A Dubious Milestone for Rep. Young

Embattled Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) has now spent more than $1.1 million on legal fees since the start of 2007, after shelling out $253,000 to four different sets of lawyers in the first quarter of this year, according to his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Young is currently fighting an expensive, three-front war. He is under federal investigation for his dealings with the Alaska oil services company Veco Corp., and also faces a tough GOP primary contest and, if he wins that, a potentially difficult general election battle in the fall.

Even with all his legal fees and other expenditures, Young still had $604,000 in the bank for his re-election committee as of March 31. And it turns out that campaigning in Alaska can impose its own special costs on a candidate. Young's latest campaign report shows that he spent $994 in the first quarter on "office snow plowing" and "office snow removal." It certainly was a rough winter for Young.