Category Archives: campaign finance

“Trump’s 2020 plan: Target seniors on Facebook”

April 16, 2019, 6:44 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Axios: The Trump campaign is spending nearly half (44%) of its Facebook ad budget to target users who are over 65 years old, as opposed to Democratic candidates who are only spending 27% of their budget on that demographic, according… Continue reading

“Trump’s Campaign Machine Has Two-Year Head Start”

April 14, 2019, 1:38 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: Before any well-known Democrats even began their White House bids, President Trump’s re-election team had spent more than $83 million on rallies, fundraising and other expenses associated with the thick of a heated race.Mr. Trump set up his 2020 … Continue reading

“Early fundraising by 2020 Democrats shows they are in for a long, drawn-out fight”

April 12, 2019, 8:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: The limited early fundraising hauls announced by Democratic presidential hopefuls show that no clear front-runner has yet emerged in the race, and portend a drawn-out and divisive primary slog before the party unifies against President Trump.The overall sum… Continue reading

D.C. Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Upholds FEC Donor Disclosure in John Doe v. FEC Case

April 12, 2019, 8:40 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

You can find the majority and partially dissenting opinion at this link.

“Broad cross-partisan coalition urges presidential candidates to disclose their big-money campaign fundraisers”

April 11, 2019, 7:05 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Issue One: Issue One was joined today by 15 other organizations from across the ideological spectrum in urging all Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to publicly disclose information about their campaign top fundraisers on a regular basis during the 2020… Continue reading

“Democratic 2020 hopefuls’ feel-good, anti-PAC pledges leave plenty of room for huge PAC benefits”

April 10, 2019, 6:05 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

The Washington Examiner reports.

“Courts Have No Say When FEC Wants To Ignore Alleged Wrongdoing”

April 5, 2019, 9:11 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Ken Doyle: A decision by two federal judges is making it impossible to challenge the way the Federal Election Commission enforces campaign laws.When the FEC deadlocks along party lines, that’s now the end of the line — no court… Continue reading

“Very few Americans are satisfied with campaign finance laws, but most don’t know a lot about them”

April 4, 2019, 5:23 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

CNN: As major presidential hopefuls release their fundraising numbers from the first quarter this week, recent polling finds just 1 in 5 Americans say they are satisfied with the nation’s campaign finance laws.The January Gallup poll found that exactly 20%… Continue reading

“John Kasich forms dark money political group with other prominent never-Trumpers”

April 4, 2019, 8:10 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“Black leaders blast Dem war on super PACs”

April 3, 2019, 11:45 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Top black donors and operatives are calling on fellow Democrats to abandon their push against super PACs, arguing that one of Democrats’ most popular 2020 talking points will ultimately cut off much-needed resources for candidates of color.In a letter… Continue reading

“Online Campaign Contributions in US Politics: A Conversation”

April 2, 2019, 11:30 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

SSRC: In this conversation hosted by the Media & Democracy program, program officer Mike Miller discusses the trajectory of campaign financing in recent elections with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy (Stetson University) and Heath Brown (John Jay College of Criminal Justice). In… Continue reading

“From Rick Santorum to Beto O’Rourke, Federal Regulation Arbitrarily Criminalizes Candidates”

April 2, 2019, 7:04 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Eric Wang for the Daily Caller.

“Catch and Kill: Can tabloids hide behind the First Amendment?”

April 1, 2019, 2:54 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Rebecca Beyer for the ABA Journal: One possible defense to any charge of campaign finance violations in the AMI/McDougal deal would come from the Federal Election Campaign Act’s distinction between campaign expenses and “personal use” expenses. (Edwards went with the… Continue reading

Senator Ted Cruz Suing to Kill Campaign Finance Law Limiting Post-Election Fundraising for Personal Loan Repayments to $250K

April 1, 2019, 8:16 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Zoe Tillman: NEW: Sen. Ted Cruz is suing the FEC, challenging a $250K cap on the amount of money a candidate can raise after an election to repay personal funds the candidate loaned to his or her campaign https://t.co/tDfFnuDuUa… Continue reading