Category Archives: campaign finance

“Koch network reserves $30 million in Senate ad buys”

May 17, 2016, 7:00 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Key groups in the Koch brothers’ political network on Monday began reserving $30 million in advertising buys in key Senate races in August and September, a network official tells POLITICO. The television and digital ad buys, from Freedom Partners… Continue reading

“Trump creating committees to raise big money for GOP”

May 16, 2016, 9:25 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Donald Trump, facing calls to mend the rift he created in the Republican Party, is putting the final touches on two separate fundraising committees that will allow him to solicit massive checks to help the GOP candidates with… Continue reading

“GOP-allied advocacy group American Action Network reports record fundraising”

May 16, 2016, 9:19 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: The conservative nonprofit advocacy group American Action Network raised more than $26 million for its efforts to support the agenda of the House GOP leadership in the fiscal year ending in June 2015, a record for the organization,… Continue reading

“Rift Between Labor and Environmentalists Threatens Democratic Turnout Plan”

May 16, 2016, 9:12 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Two of the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituencies, labor and environmentalists, are clashing over an effort to raise tens of millions of dollars for an ambitious voter turnout operation aimed at defeating Donald J. Trump in the… Continue reading

“Money in politics: Finance, regulation and disclosure in California’s ballot initiative process”

May 16, 2016, 1:48 pmcampaign finance, direct democracyRick Hasen

Listen to KPCC’s Air Talk: As we look to the November ballot, this is expected to be a record year for citizen initiatives in California with more than a hundred already proposed and filed with the Secretary of State.… Continue reading

“Donald Trump Wouldn’t Have Had the Ready Cash to Self-Finance Entire Campaign — Analysis”

May 16, 2016, 8:03 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ reports.

Are Kochs Doing Less National Politics to Protect Their Business Interests?

May 16, 2016, 7:45 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

This National Review piece reporting on internal Koch deliberations flips the conventional wisdom on the left (that Koch spending benefits Koch business) on its head.

“Billionaires lining up for Trump aren’t sure where to send their money”

May 16, 2016, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: The lack of a major super PAC vehicle is a source of concern among top Trump advisers, some of whom have reached out to experienced strategists in recent weeks to gauge their interest in launching a new entity, according… Continue reading

“St. Joseph County candidate nominated by two parties for one seat”

May 16, 2016, 7:09 amcampaign finance, political partiesRick Hasen

South Bend Tribune reports he may sue to keep D and R nominations.

“After hefty campaign donations, Bentley benefactor gets governor’s support to go nuclear”

May 16, 2016, 7:03 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

The latest from Alabama.

“How Big Business Kills Third Party Candidates”

May 16, 2016, 5:46 amballot access, campaign finance, campaigns, third partiesRick Hasen

Lessig: The law, however, permits corporations to support “nonpartisan activity,” so long as that activity is “designed to encourage individuals to vote or to register to vote.” The FEC has interpreted this law to permits corporate sponsorship of presidential… Continue reading

“Are Plutocrats Really Uniting?”

May 15, 2016, 9:15 pmcampaign finance, Plutocrats United, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Paul Jossey: The anti-First Amendment Campaign Legal Center recently hosted noted election-law professor Rick Hasen to discuss his book ‘Plutocrats United.’ Hasen presented the book’s reform themes of undue donor influence, corruption, and political inequality. And although… Continue reading

“‘Self-funded’ Donald Trump preparing to seek big-donor money”

May 13, 2016, 11:39 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

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

“With Bob McDonnell Appeal, SCOTUS Can Clarify Line Between Politics and Crime”

May 13, 2016, 7:41 amcampaign finance, chicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this oped for the National Law Journal. It begins: You don’t have to be a lover of the U.S. Supreme Court’s noxious Citizens United v. FEC case to be troubled by the corruption prosecution of Virginia governor… Continue reading