Category Archives: campaign finance

“FEC announces 2023-2024 campaign cycle contribution limits”

February 2, 2023, 2:32 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Release: The Federal Election Commission announced updated contribution limits that have been indexed for inflation and are effective for federal elections in 2023 and 2024. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) included provisions that indexed some contribution limits… Continue reading

“What are Andy Ogles’ financial ties? Freshman GOP congressman ignores federal disclosure law”

January 31, 2023, 7:35 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NewsChannel5: Tennessee’s newest congressman, Rep. Andy Ogles, quickly became a key player in the battle for control of the House, demanding concessions in exchange for his support for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. But a NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered the freshman… Continue reading

Full Set from J.H. Snider on Financing Constitutional Conventions

January 31, 2023, 7:25 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Snider, J.H., Part I: Alaska’s constitutional convention spending spree, The Fulcrum, Jan. 9, 2023. Snider, J.H., Part II: Deterrence helps explain the spending spree, The Fulcrum, Jan. 16, 2023. Snider, J.H., Part III: The failed constitutional convention campaign finance marketplace… Continue reading

“New Report: Publicly Funded Campaigns Can Dilute Big Money’s Influence on California’s Politics”

January 27, 2023, 9:56 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Release: “Matching funds” programs and democracy dollars, two approaches to public financing of campaigns, can be keys to breaking big money’s grip on state politics and lifting up the voices of regular Californians, according to a new report released today… Continue reading

“Revealed: Trump secretly donated $1m to discredited Arizona election ‘audit'”

January 27, 2023, 7:06 amcampaign finance, chicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

The Guardian:/Documented: One of the enduring mysteries surrounding the chaotic attempts to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential battle has been solved: who made a secret $1m donation to the controversial election “audit” in Arizona? The identity… Continue reading

“The improbability of George Santos’ $199 expenses”

January 25, 2023, 7:43 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: Rep. George Santos’ congressional campaign reported dozens of transactions just cents below the threshold that would have triggered a requirement to preserve spending records — an unusual spending pattern that is now part of broader complaints about alleged financial improprieties.… Continue reading

“Trump’s Former Lawyer Meets With Prosecutors About Hush Money”

January 18, 2023, 7:32 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Tuesday took a significant step forward in its investigation of Donald J. Trump, meeting with his former personal lawyer about hush money paid to a porn star who said she had an affair… Continue reading

“Billions at stake as online fundraising practices turn off voters”

January 17, 2023, 6:38 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: That advice reflects a recognition among digital campaign staffers that text and email programs have gone from innovative to out of hand, to the point that it’s harming the campaign ecosystem. The rate of return on individual appeals is… Continue reading

“Records Show George Santos Made Questionable Payments to Vendors”

January 16, 2023, 4:14 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Newsday: Campaign committees tied to Rep. George Santos paid tens of thousands of dollars to newly formed companies with opaque histories and meager track records of working for other candidates, a Newsday review ofstate and federal filings shows. Election… Continue reading

“The Mysterious, Unregistered Fund That Raised Big Money for Santos”

January 12, 2023, 7:48 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: A month before George Santos was elected to Congress, one of his large donors received a call asking him to consider making another sizable contribution. The request came from a Republican loyalist calling on behalf of RedStone Strategies, which… Continue reading

“George Santos broke campaign finance laws, nonpartisan watchdog says”

January 9, 2023, 8:08 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: A complaint filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission accused Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who has admitted to fabricating key details of his biography, of wide-ranging campaign finance violations. The alleged wrongdoing includes masking the true source of his… Continue reading

“Corporations gave $10M to election objectors after pledging to cut them off”

January 6, 2023, 6:05 pmcampaign finance, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Politico: Political action committees affiliated with more than 70 major corporations said they would pause or reconsider donations to those who objected to certifying the results of the 2020 election after the attack on the U.S. Capitol two years… Continue reading

“Dark Money: Are U.S. Politics Unduly Influenced by Secret Donors?”

January 6, 2023, 4:51 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Deep dive by CQ Researcher, outside the paywall for a short time.

“Democratic dark money juggernaut behind Biden-allied group targeting House GOP”

December 29, 2022, 9:07 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Washington Examiner: A President Joe Biden-allied nonprofit group aiming to investigate House Republicans next Congress has been almost completely bankrolled by an influential Democratic-linked dark money organization, records reveal. The Democratic strategist-led Congressional Integrity Project has raked in $1.5 … Continue reading