Category Archives: campaign finance

“Musk Political Group Takes on Local Races and New Targets”

March 22, 2025, 2:31 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Wall Street Journal: As Elon Musk’s government-shrinking operation slashed its way through federal agencies across Washington this month, one of his top lieutenants turned his attention to a smaller political arena, more than 2,000 miles away. Chris Young, the… Continue reading

“Scoop: Musk’s PAC offers $100 to Wisconsin voters in pitch against ‘activist judges'”

March 21, 2025, 2:21 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Déjà vu all over again, from Axios.

March 28-29 Yale Conference: “Free Speech in Crisis and the Limits of the First Amendment”

March 19, 2025, 7:27 amcampaign finance, cheap speech, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

Looking forward to speaking at this event (in person only): Recently, the law of free speech has been marked by two seemingly inconsistent phenomena. On the one hand, the Roberts Court has been both praised and decried for its highly… Continue reading

“Trump’s secret power protection plan”

March 10, 2025, 7:55 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Axios: Anyone who thinks President Trump‘s mesmerizing hold over the GOP will slip if his poll numbers slide is missing one of his biggest innovations in American politics: The creation of a cash-flush political operation that has raked in… Continue reading

“In Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, both sides take aim at the other’s billionaire backers”

March 8, 2025, 5:19 pmcampaign finance, judicial elections, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

NBC News: The Wisconsin Supreme Court contest is shaping up to be a battle of billionaires, with each side in the race casting the other’s most prominent donors as boogeymen. Liberal megadonors like George Soros and outside groups with ties… Continue reading

“Despite Musk, progressives are winning the ad war in Wisconsin”

March 7, 2025, 6:32 amcampaign finance, campaigns, judicial electionsRick Hasen

The Downballot: Despite Elon Musk’s multi-million dollar spending spree, progressives retain an advantage on the airwaves in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race—and now they’re making an issue of Musk’s involvement, too. At the same time, a rare poll shows liberal Judge… Continue reading

“A test for judicial independence in Wisconsin; Elon Musk is spending big on the state’s Supreme Court race while expressing contempt for independent courts. That’s a worrisome combination.”

March 6, 2025, 7:20 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Rob Yablon for The Contrarian.

“ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos”

March 6, 2025, 6:55 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: ActBlue, the online fund-raising organization that powers Democratic candidates, has plunged into turmoil, with at least seven senior officials resigning late last month and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation. The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise… Continue reading

“A Kennedy Ally Puts Money Into a Push to Recall Karen Bass”

March 5, 2025, 7:30 amcampaign finance, Plutocrats United, recall electionsRick Hasen

NYT: The first serious effort to recall Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles after the city’s devastating fires is taking shape, with financial backing from Nicole Shanahan, who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate in last year’s presidential election.… Continue reading

“People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago”

March 4, 2025, 11:00 amcampaign finance, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

Wired: Guests are paying millions of dollars to dine and meet with President Donald Trump at special events held at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Business leaders can secure a one-on-one meeting with the president at Mar-a-Lago for… Continue reading

“Wisconsin Supreme Court race puts Trump and Musk at center stage”

March 3, 2025, 7:21 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Patrick Marley for WaPo: President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk’s policies will get their first major test at the ballot box this spring in an election that will determine who controls the Wisconsin Supreme Court and shape the future… Continue reading

DOJ Gets Another Extension to Respond to Cert Petition in NRSC Campaign Finance Case–Making It More Likely We Don’t See a Decision for Another Year Plus If SCOTUS Takes Case

March 1, 2025, 5:11 pmcampaign finance, political partiesRick Hasen

The latest extension goes through April 9. My earlier coverage is here and here.

“The case of the missing $3M: Eric Adams’ campaign finance woes grow”

February 27, 2025, 9:04 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico:A mysterious $3 million sitting in Mayor Eric Adams’ reelection account is the latest irregularity giving campaign finance officials cause to deny him crucial public matching funds. The Campaign Finance Board broadened the criteria it used to deny Adams… Continue reading

“In Crucial Judicial Race in Wisconsin, G.O.P. Now Has a Financial Edge”

February 26, 2025, 7:46 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

NYT: The last time Wisconsin held an election for the state’s Supreme Court, Republicans cried foul over the wave of money from out-of-state Democrats that overwhelmed their candidate. Two years later, Republicans have learned their lesson. It is Democrats who… Continue reading