In 2010, voters were so determined to upset the Washington establishment that they elected a House of Representatives in which 20 percent of the faces were new. It was a political revolution. But nearly two years later, the 89 rookies elected in November, 2010—80 Republicans and nine Democrats—don’t look all that different from their more veteran colleagues.
Continue readingHouse freshmen: Campaign finance raw data
For the data nerds out there, we've put together spreadsheets of the campaign finance analysis of the freshmen class used for this story. It includes data reported to the Federal Election Commission as of the second quarter of 2012. Click below to see a table.
Continue readingCongressional ad campaigns poised for big fall blitz
While super PACs, seven-figure checks and the heated Republican presidential nomination fight that Mitt Romney eventually won dominated the news the first half of this election year, congressional campaigns quietly have been pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the political economy -- and the real avalanche of congressional campaign expenditures and campaign ads is yet to begin.
Outside spending groups like the Campaign for Primary Accountability and Freedomworks for America have gotten most of the spotlight for running ads attacking incumbents in primaries. But congressional candidates themselves have had far more to spend to get their message out. As of ...
Continue readingBig donors to Democratic super PACs visited White House
Though President Barack Obama called super PACs a "threat to democracy" before embracing them last February in his own reelection effort, he and members of his inner circle had no trouble meeting with the kind of people who contribute to them. At least 16 individuals who gave money to some of the major outside spending groups had meetings with White House officials--including Obama himself.
The group of 16 includes major Democratic donors, bundlers for Obama's campaign and a few individuals who have official roles in the administration. Some have frequent access to both the president and his inner circle ...
Continue readingSuper PACs spent almost $1 million in Tuesday’s primaries
Super PACs and other independent groups spent almost $1 million in Kentucky and Arkansas, the two states that held primaries on Tuesday.
So far this year, super PACs have spent at least $16 million on congressional races, a fraction of what they've pumped into the presidential campaign. But the smaller amounts spent in congressional races have sometimes produced big results, pushing a few candidates to primary victories. So far, super PACs and other independent group have spent on 88 races.
In Kentucky the big spender was the Liberty for All super PAC,which run by a few twenty-something supporters ...
Super donors provide bulk of money to super PACs
Super PACs have broken the $200 million mark in donations and $100 million in spending, with much of the money coming from a few donors with deep pockets whose largesse has changed the dynamics of political campaigning.
Some of the big players in the current cycle, many of whom have been big donors for decades, made their first super PAC contributions to support one of the major presidential candidates, then shifted focus to Congressional contests, with some pledging millions for tight races.
Harold Simmons, a major contributor to conservative super PACs, has been in the spotlight for his $13.5 ...
Super PAC profile: Twenty-something Ron Paul supporters found Liberty for All
A new super PAC funded almost entirely by a 21-year-old Ron Paul supporter and run by a 24-year-old political consultant is putting big bucks behind a tea party candidate running in a Kentucky congressional race.
So far, the group -- Liberty for All -- has spent $542,600 on campaign ads supporting Thomas Massie in a seven-way battle for the Republican nomination in the northern Kentucky district currently represented by retiring Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky. In addition to backing congressional candidates the new super PAC has pledged to help Paul in his effort to amass delegates to the Republican convention -- an effort ...
Continue readingPresidential campaign donors moving to super PACs
A few weeks after some individual donors hit their campaign contribution limits to President Obama’s reelection campaign, they made donations to the super PAC supporting him, extending their financial support to the shadow campaign that's backing his bid for another four years in the White House.
This new trend has just begun to emerge in the most recent super PAC financial disclosures filed over the weekend with the Federal Election Commission. It's another impact of the sweeping changes in campaign finance law set off by the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United, which opened the door ...
The X-factors? Lesser-known super PACs could have big impact in fall congressional races
While the super PACs supporting presidential candidates have been in the spotlight in the early months of the campaign season, a number of lesser-known -- but potentially as influential -- super PACs are emerging. Filings that came in over the weekend at the Federal Election Commission featured a number of heretofore unsung super PACs, many formed for the purpose of influencing a specific House or Senate election.
Though they are smaller than their presidential counterparts, some of the groups benefit fromt he same big-name donors. While some super PACs are new, others appear to be gearing up for an encore after playing ...
Continue readingSuper PACs, other groups, fuel four-fold spending increase in 2012 presidential race
Outside groups, including super PACs and nonprofit organizations, have spent almost four times more on the 2012 presidential campaign than comparable organizations spent at the same point in the 2008 cycle, an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings show.
Four years ago in late March, when Republicans had already wrapped up a wide-open battle for their party's nomination and Democrats were still engaged in a battle that would go on for months, spending on the presidential campaign by independent groups stood just shy of $22 million. Today, outside spending on the race for the White House has already topped ...
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