This Halloween mystery all began on a dark and stormy night, when unsuspecting phones were attacked by political ads via text message. What made this message so scary is that when people went to “unwrap” the text, they realized the organization had no face. When they went searching for the sender’s website, it was dead.
Not until the wee hours of the morning, was the privacy of the sender revoked for violating spamming rules. The Atlantic connected the texts to Jason Flanary and ccAdvertising.
This spooky spending looks like it is taking advantage of a legal loophole by emailing ...
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 readingHalloween special: Scary super PACs and America’s zombie apocalypse
While browsing our super PAC database in the days leading up to Halloween, Sunlight reporters couldn't help but notice the number of committee names that were creepy--even scary. On the other hand, perhaps it's not so surprising given how many operate in shadowy fashion.
Continue readingAmericans for Tax Reform spends big on House races
The nonprofit group Americans for Tax Reform is flooding several House races with more than $14 million in independent expenditures this month.
The 501(c)4 lobbying group run by prominent conservative Grover Norquist has spent $1 million in six Senate contests, but its primary focus has been on bolstering Republican candidates for the House. Recent activity by ATR has made it one of the top spenders in a number of tight races, and in some districts the huge purchases have dwarfed all previous outside spending, according to Sunlight's Follow the Unlimited Money tracker.
Continue readingControversial Arizona nonprofit drops $1 million against Obama
In the past week, a GOP-led dark money group from Arizona that had barely spent any money on federal races has dropped more than $1.2 million to oppose President Barack Obama, as well as $60,000 to oppose Utah’s only House Democrat, Jim Matheson.
The nonprofit group, Americans for Responsible Leadership (ARL), organized as a 501(c)4 under the tax code, does not have to disclose its donors under federal law. However, it may be compelled to do so because of a strikingly large $11 million donation to a political organization in California. The state’s Fair ...
Continue readingUnknown donors fund 11th hour ads against Democratic Senate candidates
A GOP-aligned super PAC that formed just three weeks before the election and whose donors remain unknown dropped about $1 million on two key Senate races on Friday, according to recent Federal Election Commission reports.
Freedom Fund North America made the buys opposing two Democratic candidates: Montana Sen. Jon Tester, seen at right, and former North Dakota attorney general Heidi Heitkamp. The super PAC also bought one supporting Rep. Rick Berg, the Republican running against Heitkamp for the state's open Senate seat. The ads do not appear to be available on the web; the group does not have a ...
Continue readingWeb of union giving
To view a larger version, click here or the image.
Deep-pocketed corporate moguls have captured most of the headlines this year when it comes to creative campaign giving, but the working class is showing it can play the same game.
The Supreme Court's landmark 2010 decision in Citizens United gave unions, as well as corporations, the right to spend money directly from their treasuries to influence elections. An examination of independent expenditures by labor unions, captured by Sunlight's Follow the Unlimited Money, reveals an interlocking web of donations to a plethora of super PACs, some of them clearly ...
Continue readingFreedomWorks makes rare TV buy against Duckworth
Newly flush with more than $5 million in cash from a mystery donor, FreedomWorks, the libertarian super PAC that touts its grassroots focus, has just made a $1.5 million television ad buy in a competitive Illinois House race.
The ad, which has not aired yet, appears to be a Hail Mary pass to help Rep. Joe Walsh, a freshman Republican who is at risk of losing his job to Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran, was up 10 points in a recent poll.
It's an unusual move because FreedomWorks generally steers clear of television ads ...
Continue readingThe $50 million couple: Adelsons lap the field of big donors
In a campaign characterized by big donors, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, stand out. The couple's latest blizzard of political check writing -- which produced more than $15 million of donations to Republican candidates and causes in a one week period this month -- brought their total political contributions for the 2012 cycle to a whopping $52 million.
The next closest big campaign donor, billionaire nuclear waste entrepreneur Harold Simmons, has given $23 million.
The Adelsons lead a roster of 134 individuals or organizations giving $1 million or more to campaigns in this, the first presidential campaign to ...
Continue readingWeek’s outside spending favors Republicans 2:1
Less than two weeks before the election, outside spending took another big leap last week, jumping to $180 million since last Friday favoring Republicans nearly two-to-one.
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