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 ...
Continue readingSolid blue states attracting a lot of political green
Republican groups are pumping millions into states usually thought of as Democratic strongholds, seeking to tip competitive House races into their favor. The result? Three big Democratic states -- California, New York and Illinois--are the top targets for outside spending in congressional races, according to the Sunlight Foundation's Follow the Unlimited Money.
The 2010 U.S. Census triggered redistricting across the country, creating once-a-decade opportunities in some districts. So while President Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, are ignoring three of the nation's most populous states -- neither candidate has placed an ad there at least since Aug ...
Continue readingMedia spending tops $100 million in 10 key Senate races
Voters in 10 states with competitive Senate races have been inundated with more than $106 million in campaign propaganda, an analysis of independent expenditure reports and campaign expenditure records from the Federal Election Commission shows.
The total represents a combination of ad spending by outside groups and candidates' combined, and is likely a considerable understatement as candidate campaign committees' third-quarter filings have yet to be made public by the FEC.
But the spending we know about so far underscores the stakes involved as the two parties battle for control of the Senate, where Democrats currently hold a six-vote edge. Of ...
Continue readingConservatives hail Mitt, each other in Denver
Our Denver-based colleague, Nancy Watzman, caught some of the big speakers at Wednesday's Conservative Political Action Conference in Denver.
Continue readingConservative stars gather for apres-debate confab in Denver
This post has been updated.
DENVER -- On the morning after the first presidential debate, a host of political stars from the conservative firmament -- perhaps including GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney himself -- will be here for a gathering of Colorado members of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Update October 4, 11:58 a.m.: Romney made a surprise appearance at CPAC, emphasizing a Republican victory in in Colorado, one of the eight states that the non-partisan Cook Political Report considers as tossup in this year's presidential race.
CPAC Colorado, whose slogan is "Mobilizing the Mountain West," is a project of ...
Continue readingFCC database misses huge chunk of ads
In key battleground states, huge numbers of presidential ads are airing on TV stations that are not required to post to the Federal Communications Commission's online political ad database, new data released by the Wesleyan Media Project shows.
Continue readingSeptember outside spending breaks record
In September, outside spending crushed all past months on record, at over $200 million, according to Sunlight’s Follow the Unlimited Money tracker, and prior years' independent expenditure filings with the Center for Responsive Politics.
To put the September figure in perspective, the $207 million is more than double what was spent in August. It represents 38 percent of all of the $548 million in independent expenditures in the 2012 election and about two thirds of the total outside spending in the entire 2008 election, according to totals compiled by CRP. That year also featured a presidential race -- the last ...
Continue readingColorado: Team Romney keeping a low profile in a swing state?
The campaign activity that's visible so far calls into question how much the Republican nominee and his backers plan to invest in a state where recent polling shows Obama ahead of Romney, and public records show the president outspending his rival in major television markets.
Continue readingTarget Nevada: Silver State drawing lots of green from campaigns
Nevada is used to high rollers, but the state has special reason to be blase about this set.
President Obama is in the state, prepping for his Wednesday debate with his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, after headlining a Sunday night rally in Las Vegas. Romney's wife Ann arrives in Las Vegas Monday for a rally in nearby Henderson and then an evening fundraiser at the home of Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, no slouch herself in the political underwriting department. And first lady Michelle Obama arrives Wednesday for a campaign stop in Reno.
Residents of the ...
Continue readingParty crash fail: No Sunlight at Mitt’s fundraiser
We at Sunlight Foundation are fond of writing about fundraisers and gatherings, especially the quirky or high-priced local ones that we come across on our Political Party Time website. But, once in a while, we get a chance to check out the parties in person. Or at least, experience the novelty of attending and meeting the folks who donate and coordinate these expensive affairs while we hang around outside closed doors.
So Thursday evening's fundraiser for Mitt Romney held at the Rennaissance Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington, was an irresistable target. The event was tagged at $2,500 for ...
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