Julie Bykowicz for the AP: The billionaire presidential candidate who prides himself on paying his own way and bashed his competition for relying on political donors now wants their money — and lots of it. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican… Continue reading

Marc Caputo: Congressional campaign fundraising is such a “disgusting and appalling” process that multimillionaire Randy Perkins won’t hit up contributors anymore and is refunding donations to anyone who asks, he told POLITICO Florida. But Perkins, a Democrat who raised… Continue reading

Reuters: Supporters of billionaire Donald Trump appear unfazed by his decision to accept money from outside donors, despite his earlier vow to self-fund his presidential campaign and his criticism of rivals as puppets of wealthy special interests. The vow… Continue reading

LAT: California enforcement officials are proposing $80,000 in ethics fines against former state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Camarillo). The punishment is for allegedly aiding three supporters in disguising that they were the true source of contributions to Strickland’s unsuccessful 2010… Continue reading

Ari Melber for NBC News.

LAT: The state Senate on Thursday voted to rescind a rule prohibiting campaign fundraising during the budget season after Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said it is giving an unfair advantage to moneyed special interests opposing… Continue reading

CPI: Eerie sounds. Thudding piano notes. Rapid-fire clips of Donald Trumpmaking disparaging remarks about women. This minute-long takedown looks like apolitical ad. It sounds like a political ad. But according to the pro-Hillary Clintonsuper PAC… Continue reading

Seth Hill and Gregory Huber have written this article for Political Behavior. Here is the abstract: Only a small portion of Americans make campaign donations, yet because ambitious politicians need these resources, this group may be particularly important for shaping… Continue reading

No surprise.