As the election approaches, the public has been inundated by millions of dollars of television commercials intended to sway them one way or another in the upcoming races. While much of the media focus has been on Super PACs — new entities formed after the Citizens United decision — it’s important to remember two things about
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Yesterday, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a subpoena targeting a foundation affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for illegally funneling $18 million to the Chamber for its political campaigning and lobbying efforts. The New York Times reports: The investigation is also looking at connections between the chamber’s foundation, the National Chamber
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Last night, incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) easily bested a tea party-backed primary challenge from Dan Liljenquist, getting 66% of the vote to his 33%. Hatch’s win came on the heels of a huge fundraising advantage. He raised $9,709,238 and spent $10,151,378 during the campaign cycle, while Liljenquist raised $778,362 and spent only $614,638. Interestingly, 40 percent of the
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Last week, Governor Dannel Malloy (D-Conn.) had an opportunity to enact significant statewide campaign finance reform. Instead, he vetoed legislation that promised to be one of the most powerful disclosure laws in any state. As Public Campaign’s Nick Nyhart put it: “Malloy had a chance to be a national leader on reform, but opted to side with wealthy
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Corporations often seek to elect their own politicians and set policy, but are nervous about public backlash from engaging directly in politics. That’s why so many corporations hide behind layers of front groups and dummy nonprofits to run ads and other electioneering efforts. Aetna, the health insurance company, was recently exposed for secretly financing at
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If you live in Florida, Ohio, Montana, or Missouri, you’ve probably seen attack ads from the 60 Plus Association, a group that touts itself a “non-partisan seniors’ advocacy group” and the “conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).” Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) alone has faced $2.3 million in ads all financed by
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Maverick, indeed. Despite being a prominent Mitt Romney surrogate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) criticized one of the Republican presidential contender’s super PAC sugar daddies and questioned whether the millions of dollars Adelson is spending on the election is considered “foreign money.” Yesterday, he told PBS’s News Hour: “Much of Mr. Adelson’s casino profits that go
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One of the biggest Super PACs this election cycle, American Crossroads (along with its sister group, Crossroads GPS), is airing ads across the country assailing Democrats for “bailing out the same banks that caused the financial meltdown.” The group has launched bank-bailout themed ads against Elizabeth Warren, who in fact has been harshly critical of
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