Tom Korologos, a Republican so admired by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that he's been called "the 101st senator," is going to lobby for Al Jazeera.
Continue readingAt least $200K spent in DC on Super Bowl political ads
Sunday's Super Bowl was the country's top rated sporting spectacle--but viewers in Washington area got something extra: more political ads. Three groups spent a total of $200,000 to air political ads for DC-area super bowl viewers. For the first time this year, these ad contracts are available online, thanks to an FCC order that went into effect last summer.
Continue readingAmong Hagel attackers: Shadowy group run by aide to Ron Lauder
As former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's pick for secretary of defense, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today, he's under online attack from a group that's previously been criticized for a "mostly false" TV ad and "laughably bogus" polling. Though the group, Secure America Now, doesn't disclose its donors, and has yet to file a full year's tax return for either of its non-profit arms, Sunlight has learned it is run by a longtime political aide to Ronald Lauder, a cosmetics heir who has become a patron of Jewish causes and Republican candidates.
Ad site snafu raises questions about FCC oversight
For the first time last year, the Federal Communications Commission began requiring certain TV stations to post political ad buy contracts online. Yet an apparent snafu at a Florida station that kept all buys made in the final month of the election offline until earlier this month raises questions about just how well that system is working.
Continue readingSecret money fuels Freedomworks
New filings show that Freedomworks, the Tea party-aligned super PAC that's in the midst of a messy leadership breakup, got more than $12 million from two shadowy companies set up just this fall.
Continue reading‘Tis the season: Ads targeting 2014 Senate candidates already on air
For years, political advertisers have benefitted from a loophole big enough to drive a $10 million-dollar political campaign through. "Issue ads" that don't explicitly ask for a vote for or against a candidate, and don't run immediately before the election, don't have to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission.
But new rules requiring about 15 percent of the country's broadcast TV stations to disclose these ad buys online are beginning to pull the veil off this secret spending. And, the documents help make clear, the line between "issue ads" and the endless campaign is vanishingly ...
Continue readingKarl Rove’s super PAC breaks $100 million in spending
American Crossroads, the super PAC run by Karl Rove, has spent more than $100 million.
Continue readingMayor Mike Bloomberg’s superstorm of 11th hour political donations
With New York City struggling to recover from Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to begin airing political ads for his favorite candidates around the country through his newly-created super PAC.
Continue readingBusinesses give $33 million to super PACs
Businesses have given more than $33 million to super PACs since the beginning of this campaign cycle, according to a Sunlight analysis of campaign finance reports. Trade unions gave at least $15 million in the same time period.
Republican-aligned super PACs got the lion's share of business contributions, taking in just under $30 million. That dwarfed the $3.8 million that their Democratic-leaning counterparts received from business. Yet the gap may be narrowing ahead of the general election: Left-leaning super PACs raised almost $1.2 million from business in June, while super PACs siding with the GOP raised $4 ...
Continue readingSuper PACs raise $55 million in June
Super PACs had their biggest month ever, raising over $55 million in June.
That impressive haul brought super PAC's total fundraising since Jan 1. 2011 to more than $313 million. As of around June 30, super PAC's had about $110 million in the bank (that total includes groups filing reports due between June 27 and July 13).
Monthly filers reporting the biggest June takes were Restore Our Future ($20.7 million), which backs Mitt Romney; Priorities USA ($6.2 million) which backs Barack Obama; and American Crossroads, ($5.8 million) lead by GOP strategist Karl Rove.
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