A new Miami-based super PAC has surfaced with billboards opposing President Barack Obama in south Florida and plans to plant more in at least two other battleground states before Election Day. Backed by mostly Republican, pro-Israel activists, American Principles super PAC has spent about $220,000 so far and plans to spend $500,000 this election.
It's one of a number of pop up super PACs that are emerging just before the November election, barraging voters with advertisements before having to reveal any information about financial backers. American Principles will release its first list of donors by Oct. 20 ...
Continue readingOne week’s outside political spending: $100 million
The weekly total of outside spending has skyrocketed from $26.2 million in the second week of September to more than $102.3 million for the week that ended Thursday.
Continue readingVideo: The Week in Political Spending
Sunlight kicks off today a new Election 2012 video series called the Political Weather Report. Even if it’s dark money... View Article
Continue readingAmerican Crossroads & Crossroads GPS spend $174 million; 70% from Anonymous Donors
The Crossroads network has spent approximately $174,285,625.40 on the 2012 election and almost three out of every four dollars (70.5%)... View Article
Continue readingTwoops! Scott Brown (briefly) hails Elizabeth Warren appointment
Sometimes the fastest thumbs in politics are just too fast for their own (or their bosses') good.
About 15 minutes into Wednesday night's debate between Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and his Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, Team Brown -- using the boss' campaign Twitter account -- tweeted out a brag about the senator authoring an amendment to create a consumer protection board for members of the military service "which is now headed by Holly Petraeus."
That's a good name to drop. Holly Petraeus is the wife of retired Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded U.S. and allied forces in Iraq and ...
Continue readingPolitical Ad Sleuth debuts: Track the money behind the campaign ads
Above Las Vegas last week, the air invisibly crackled with attacks and counter-attacks by candidates for a House and a Senate seat -- not to mention President Obama, his rival Mitt Romney and their backers. In Denver, there was a clash of political fronts: Outside groups like Planned Parenthood and Crossroads GPS competed for airtime with each other, as well as the candidates they are supporting.
In Grand Rapids, Mich., ads in a high-priced contest over a bridge to Canada dominated the TV airwaves, while in Sacramento, it was ballot initiatives and House races vying for voters' attention. Milwaukee viewers were ...
Continue readingObama September surge leaves Romney in a $360 million hole
Unless Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney persuaded donors to cough up $360 million in September, President Barack Obama will remain the all-time king of political fundraising.
The Obama campaign released preliminary figures showing their candidate's dollar domination in September, when he raised $181 million, the bulk of it--some 98 percent--in chunks of $250 or less. That brings Obama's overall total to a staggering $925 million in the current election cycle, including money raised by his joint fundraising committees, the Obama Victory Fund and the Swing State Victory Fund, and the Democratic National Committee.
Romney and his surrogates have ...
Continue readingExpert: Court enforces law when Federal Election Commission can’t
Last week a federal judge stepped in to decide when a political ad is a campaign ad, meaning it has to be reported to the Federal Election Commission, as Sunlight wrote on Friday.
The case was brought by a conservative, Virginia-based nonprofit that wants to run five political ads that appear to be aimed at criticizing President Obama without disclosing them to the FEC. The group, the Hispanic Leadership Fund, sued the FEC after the commissioners, beset by partisan gridlock, could not decide whether the ads were so called electioneering communications—a term of art meaning the ads have to ...
Continue readingWhen is a political ad not a campaign ad? Federal judge decides for FEC
The murky rules around electioneering ads may have gotten slightly less unclear this week, but not thanks to the Federal Election Commission.
A federal judge issued an opinion Thursday that appears to give the green light to a Virginia-based conservative nonprofit based called the Hispanic Leadership Fund to run some controversial ads that seem to be aimed at criticizing President Obama without disclosing the spending (or donors) to the Federal Election Commission.
Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled that some of the five ads that stymied the FEC back in June are "electioneering" -- a term of art for ads that ...
Continue readingOutside spending tops $105 million–and counting–in just nine days
Outside spending groups--PACs, super PACs, nonprofits and party committees--have spent a staggering $105 million to influence federal elections over the past nine days. Overall, outside spending in the 2012 election is now just a few million short of $600 million, according to Sunlight’s Follow the Unlimited Money tracker.
The $105 million, disclosed on independent expenditure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, was spent from Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 and includes an $11 million ad buy by the conservative super PAC American Crossroads opposing President Barack Obama and reimbursements amounting to as little as 31 cents that the ...
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