When the going gets tough, the politicians get going.  From both sides of the aisle, legislators are taking advantage of the summer recess to fundraise in more exotic locations than their usual haunts around the Beltway. While a completely comprehensive list is not available, more than two dozen events in the Party Time database are scheduled over the next few weeks.  It’s no secret that most legislators are using the opportunity to show off the best of their home states–at upscale resorts, sporting events and cocktail parties– at least to donors willing to pay top dollars.

Many Republicans will be heading out to the Wild West as they gear up for weekends of fishing and golf in the great outdoors.  Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, will be hosting his annual “Hook ‘N Bullet” fundraiser for his Freedom Fund PAC at Silver Springs Angus Ranch in Idaho.  Invitees are encouraged to “enjoy horseback riding, fly fishing, trap shooting…and the best BBQ in the west” for a price tag of $2,500 per person.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., will also be fundraising in his home state for his Making Business Excel PAC.  A “Day in the Tetons”, including fly-fishing and dinner, will set invitees back $2,500 per person, or $1,000 for dinner only.

In contrast, most Democrats will be heading to the cooler climates of the Northeast.  Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., is hosting a weekend trip to Nantucket.  Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., is planning a “Newport Summer Weekend”, including a private dinner at a “historic Newport Mansion” and a boat cruise.  A pair of tickets will cost $2,500.

However, Republicans haven’t claimed all of the fundraising West of the Mississippi.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will be heading back to Nevada for a “Lake Tahoe Retreat”. For a $10,000 contribution, you can help Reid with the effort to reelect Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., as they battle for their seats in 2012. Donations will go to the Searchlight Tahoe Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee benefitting Nelson and Whitehouse.

T. Boone Pickens, billionaire industrialist and big Republican donor, is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow evening in Rancho Santa Fe, California, in honor of Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif. Pickens does not have top billing however. That honor goes to Speaker of the House, John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The fact that the Speaker is featured as an invitee to the Pickens-hosted fundraiser is what is particularly interesting about this invitation. As Politico reported today, Pickens has recently been involved in a public feud with the Koch brothers over the passage of H.R.  1380, a bill that would give tax breaks to the natural gas industry.

Pickens, who has been touting his “Pickens Plan” for American energy independence since 2008, owns a leading natural gas company and would stand to benefit significantly from the bill. For its part, Koch Industries claims to be against government subsidies that undermine the principles of free-market capitalism. Since the feud began, Republican members of congress have found themselves having to choose between two very influential Republican donors.

Rep. Bilbray is one of the co-sponsors of H.R. 1380. He is no stranger to the natural gas industry having received over $42,000 from Sempra Energy, a natural gas company headquartered just outside of Bilbray’s congressional district.

UPDATE: Party Time found that Boehner did not attend the scheduled fundraiser over the weekend and changed the headline to reflect this.

With the end of the second quarter on the horizon, lawmakers are scheduling more than the usual number of fundraisers to get in as much campaign cash as they can before June 30. Party Time has received 162 invitations to congressional fundraisers scheduled for the last ten days of June.

These events run the gamut from the usual dinners and receptions to Rep. Rush Holt’s, D-N.J., 7th Annual Jeopardy Event. Attendees of the event will have to pay at least $250 for the honor of being bested by 5-time Jeopardy Champion Holt, a man who has even beaten IBM supercomputer Watson.

For those more interested in outdoor competition, two senators and their leadership PACs will be hosting golf events. On June 20, Sen. Richard Bur, R-N.C., and his Next Century PAC will be hitting the links at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainsville VA. The price to tee off will range from $1,000 to $2,5000. From June 24 to June 26, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., will be on the greens at the Harbourtown Golf Course in St. Michaels, Maryland. Contributions will run $5,000 and be made to Cardin’s leadership PAC, LEGPAC.

Less than a month after her victory in the special election for New York’s 26th district, Rep. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., will be the beneficiary of a fundraiser for her 2012 re-election campaign. The fundraiser will be held on June 21 at the home of fellow New York Democratic representative Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. Also present at the event to welcome Hochul into the fold will be freshmen Democratic representatives Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., and Terri Sewell, D-Ala. Listed contributions start at $250 and top out at $5,000.

Democrats will also be fundraising for another candidate in a special congressional election. A reception benefitting Janice Hahn, the Democrat in the special election to replace Jane Harman of California, is scheduled at the Democratic National Headquarters on June 22. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is headlining the event along with the Democratic house leadership including Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. The invitation lists nineteen Democratic members of the California congressional delegation who will be there in support of the candidate as well.

[This post has been corrected; see note below] Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the nephew of California real estate magnate Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, will be fundraising for Sacramento area congressman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., tomorrow night, according to an invitation received by Party Time.

Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and his wife Sofia, together the fourth biggest contributors to federal candidates in 2008, gave over 95 percent of this bounty to Democrats. His nephew Angelo G., also a real estate developer, is a GOP donor — albeit on a much lower plane that his father. He and his wife Katerina appear to be letting Lungren, a conservative who challenged Boehner for Minority Leader in 2008, use their Carmichael, Calif. home to fundraise for his re-election bid.

Angelo G. has given about $7,500 to Lungren since 2003. His uncle has given the conservative lawmaker $3,200, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Members of the Tsakopoulos family, including Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis — appointed by President Obama to be ambassador to Hungary – have given $58,000 to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., from 1990 to 2004, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics (Angelo G. has not been among them). Boehner would replace Pelosi if the Republicans take the House in November.

According to news reports, Pelosi calls herself a friend of the Tsakopoulos family and her husband has benefited from real estate ventures with ATK Development, the company founded by Angelo Tsakopoulos. Eleni was ATK’s president before becoming an ambassador. Paul Pelosi Jr. has raked in between $1.4 million and $9 million from his real estate partnership with ATK Development, financial disclosure forms show.

The Speaker even attended Eleni’s Senate confirmation hearing last year, saying, “My husband and I are here as friends and admirers of the Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis family,” the Washington Times reported, referring to Markos Konalakis, the former publisher of the Washington Monthly, who is Eleni’s husband.

There is yet another well-heeled member of the Tsakopoulos clan: Eleni’s brother Kyriakos, who was on Obama’s national fundraising team and bundled between $50,000 and $100,000 for the presidential race, according to CRP.

Since 1989, Angelo has given over $12 million to federal and state candidates’ campaigns and members of the family have given over $600,000 to the Democratic Congressional Committee. (To search for campaign contributions, go to TransparencyData.com.)

As for Lungren, who gets more contributions from the real estate sector than any other, the Tsakopoulos family has contributed over $21,000 to the congressman since 2003. Lungren’s race leans in his favor, according to the Cook Political Report. However, his Democratic opponent Ami Bera has out-raised the veteran lawmaker, according to CRP.

Boehner is listed as a “special guest” on the invitation to the reception, taking place at the Tsakopoulos’s home. The “minimum contribution” to attend the reception is $250 while donors can snap a photo with the minority leader for $1,000.

To view upcoming fundraisers for members of the Congressional leadership, click here. You can also sign up to receive email alerts when we receive invitations for Congressional leadership by providing us your email address here.

Correction: The original post incorrectly stated that the Dan Lungren fundraiser was being held at the home of top Democratic donors Angelo and Sofia Tsakopoulos. In fact, the event is being held at Angelo’s nephew’s home, named Angelo G. Tsakopoulos, who is not a Democatic donor. Angelo G. has given more campaign contributions to Republicans than Democrats. A call made to the elder Tsakoupoulos for confirmation was not returned.

The initital post had said that Angelo Tsakopoulos had contributed $4,400 to Dan Lungen in the 2010 cycle. In fact, Angelo K. has given $1,000 and Angelo G. has given $3,400.