Congressional candidate Brooke says donations to Democrats don't besmirch his conservative credentials

My track record for giving to Republican causes really can't be questioned.
Will BrookeWill Brooke, candidate for Alabama's 6th Congressional District.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Is it an unpardonable sin for a Republican to have donated to a Democrat?

In the last few days a whisper campaign has questioned whether Will Brooke, a candidate for the 6th Congressional District, is a true conservative because Brooke has donated to Democratic candidates in the past, among them Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, and former Rep. Artur Davis.

In all, Brooke has donated $10,500 to Democratic candidates for Congress, but on Wednesday, Brooke said that those donations are a tiny fraction of what he has given through the years, with the vast majority going to Republican state and federal candidates.

"My track record for giving to Republican causes really can't be questioned, and this is just an effort to create an issue where there is not one," Brooke said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Brooke estimated that he and his wife have donated more than $400,000 to political candidates, with about 2 percent of that going to Democrats.

Brooke, who is the executive vice president of Harbert Management Corporation, said that the nature of his business has sometimes made it important to donate to Democratic candidates in Democratic districts in Alabama.

"These people were our congress persons and our business operates in their districts," he said. "And I think it is entirely understandable so that we can call on them when we need their credibility for their assistance."

Of the Democratic donations Brooke has made, $6,500 went to Sewell and $1,000 went to Davis. He also donated $1,000 to former Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, in 2007 and $1,000 to former Rep. Bobby Bright, D-Montgomery, in 2009.

The only out-of-state candidate Brooke supported was former Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, who was considered one of the Senate's more conservative Democrats.