Today is February 10th
Documenting the Political Partying Circuit
From the early hours of the morning until late in the evening, politicians are partying. Sunlight's PARTY TIME can help you find out who is partying, where and when.

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open seats • POSTED - 06.10.10 BY Keenan Steiner

No need to RSVP for Mark Souder Invites

Former Indiana Rep. Mark Souder, who resigned his state’s 3rd Congressional District seat last month after admitting to an affair, still had a slew of upcoming fundraisers according to invites sent to Party Time.

There were at least four events scheduled for this month, and a golf outing in August.

So, we wondered, would the show still go on? A quick call to Souder’s former chief of staff Renee Hudson confirmed that the events have all been canceled.

Among House members, Souder was one of the more prolific fundraisers before resigning; holding 21 events this year, according to Party Time’s database, which only captures a portion of the district’s political fundraisers sent to us.

Souder’s seat won’t be filled until November, as Indiana’s Governor has decided to hold the special election to coincide with the general election. The Democratic nominee, Tom Hayhurst, a former Fort Wayne city council member, has already been selected. Meanwhile, Republican committee members from Indiana’s Third District will meet on Saturday to pick a new GOP candidate.

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Partytime • POSTED - 03.26.09 BY Nancy Watzman

More top March congressional partiers here

Following up on yesterday’s post on how Sen Arlen Specter is the top congressional partier this month, with a dozen fundraisers, here are some other lawmakers who stand out for multiple parties this frenzied month:

Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D, IL), with seven parties;

Sen. Jim DeMint (R, SC), with six parties;

Rep. Thad McCotter (R, MI), with six parties;

Rep. John Larson (D, CT), with six parties;

Sen. Mark Souder (R-IN), with five parties;

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), with five parties;

Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), with five parties; and

and Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), with five parties.

What’s most striking, however, is how spread out among lawmakers and PACs the fundraising invitations we’ve collected are. Out of 427 invitations collected as of today, 269 are for different people or PACs. So that’s an average of 1.5 parties per person or organization.

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PARTYFINDER™ Hints

Beneficiary: congressional candidate, lawmaker, or entity which collects funds raised at party

Host: person who is hosting party-often, but not always, a registered federal lobbyist

Venue Name: where the party is

Entertainment Type: type of gathering, such as "breakfast," "ski trip," "bowling"

Other Lawmakers Mentioned: lawmakers mentioned on invitation who are used as a draw for the event

Sunlight's Party Time is a project to track parties for members of Congress or congressional candidates that happen all year round in Washington, D.C. and beyond. (read more)

We also post information we receive about parties where members of Congress are expected to participate—such as convention or inaugural parties.

Since we don't hear about all the parties, you can also tell us if you know where the party is and we don't.