Democratic leaders have sent tens of millions of dollars to freshman lawmakers’ districts in hope of protecting the party’s newfound majority come November.

A new study of December’s omnibus spending package shows that the party in power has resisted pressure to abandon earmarking, at least to the extent of handing lawmakers in tough districts plenty of pet projects they can boast about to voters.    

Republicans have made the practice of earmarking a major campaign theme and are likely to exploit the analysis done by the Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), a nonpartisan group that tracks federal spending. Even though several GOP members are among the biggest recipients of earmarked funds, for the first time in more than 10 years Democrats are collecting an overwhelming majority.

Take Rep. Phil Hare (D), a freshman from western Illinois. He received $92.2 million worth of earmarks, almost the same amount as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), according to the TCS analysis. The group compiled a database of every earmark passed in 2007.

Working with other lawmakers, Hare managed to attach his name to tens of thousands of dollars more in earmarks than Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  

Freshman Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) helped secure $69.9 million worth of earmarks, surpassing senior members of the Appropriations Committee such as Reps. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and even House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.).

Ellison steered millions back to his district by working closely with colleagues. He shared all of his earmarks with other lawmakers, while senior appropriators such as Mollohan, DeLauro and Wolf secured millions under their name alone.

“I’m not an opponent of earmarks,” said Ellison, at a time when a growing number of lawmakers in both parties have declared a moratorium on them. The latest to do so is Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Waxman helped secure $12.9 million in projects last year.

Ellison defended his hefty accumulation, noting that the money would go to gunshot-detection technology, which helps police locate a shooting quickly, and to a program to help children in foster homes.

Ellison said that while many freshmen may receive help from Democratic leaders because they are politically vulnerable, hard work was the secret to his own success.

“It’s not always a factor of being blessed by the leadership,” said Ellison, noting that Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, won Ellison’s district with more than 70 percent of the vote.