Category Archives: campaign finance

ELB Book Corner: Karen Sebold: “Why Elon Musk Got Away with His $1 Million Give-Away: Loose Campaign Finance Laws and Even Looser Enforcement”

August 18, 2025, 7:00 amcampaign finance, ELB Book Corner, federal election commissionRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Karen Sebold to ELB Book Corner, writing about her new book, Evaluating Campaign Finance Oversight: An Assessment of the Federal Election Commission. (Use that link with code LXFANDF30 for a 30 percent discount). Here is… Continue reading

“The D.N.C.’s New Leader Seeks to Curb Dark Money Influence in 2028 Primaries”

August 12, 2025, 7:50 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chairman, is taking a symbolic step toward curbing the influence of undisclosed and corporate funds in his party’s 2028 presidential primary, a move that is likely to instigate a broader conversation about the… Continue reading

“The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine; How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.”

August 3, 2025, 4:10 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Must-read from Adam Bonica: The digital deluge is a familiar annoyance for anyone on a Democratic fundraising list. It’s a relentless cacophony of bizarre texts and emails, each one more urgent than the last, promising that your immediate $15 donation… Continue reading

“Revealed: Elon Musk’s $1 Million Gift to Trump Inauguration”

August 2, 2025, 1:05 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Influence Brief: A Jan. 15 in-kind contribution from X Corp., the social media company previously known as Twitter and owned by Musk, never appeared in any of the Trump inaugural committee’s original disclosure or in multiple amendments. The donation only appeared… Continue reading

“Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation”

August 2, 2025, 12:59 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, lobbyingRick Hasen

NYT: When the cryptocurrency entrepreneur Eric Schiermeyer heard that President Trump was holding small group dinners with major donors, he saw opportunity. Mr. Schiermeyer reached out to a lobbyist with connections in Mr. Trump’s orbit, who arranged for him to… Continue reading

“The Great Political Money Gap; When it comes to attracting mega-donors, Republicans are crushing Democrats.”

August 2, 2025, 12:58 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: There are many signs that the Democratic and Republican Parties are in different places. Here’s one: The main Republican presidential super PAC controls almost $200 million. The main Democratic presidential super PAC is still repaying millions of dollars it… Continue reading

“Elon Musk gave Trump and the GOP $15M even as he was fighting with the president”

August 1, 2025, 8:09 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Elon Musk gave $5 million to Donald Trump’s super PAC during a dramatic and bitter falling out with the president, new filings show. The donation to MAGA Inc. was made a month after Musk said he had “done enough” … Continue reading

“Trump, Term-Limited, Amasses $200 Million War Chest for Political Ambitions”

August 1, 2025, 7:50 amauthoritarian threats in US, campaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump’s super PAC is sitting on about $200 million that it can spend against his rivals, giving a term-limited president a never-before-seen amount of power in his party’s finances and future. In the first half of 2025, Mr.… Continue reading

“Old money: Campaign finance and gerontocracy in the United States”

July 31, 2025, 5:21 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Adam Bonica and Jacob Grumbach have written this article for the Journal of Public Economics. Here is the abstract: Politicians in the United States rank among the oldest globally. This study examines how money in politics contributes to age inequality… Continue reading

“[County Executive] Sam Page indicted on election and theft charges over St. Louis County proposition mailer”

July 31, 2025, 6:47 amcampaign finance, direct democracyTravis Crum

STLPR reports: A St. Louis County grand jury on Wednesday indicted County Executive Sam Page on charges involving the use of public money to campaign against Proposition B ahead of the April election. The measure would have allowed the St.… Continue reading

“PG investigation: How dark money flooded the race for Pittsburgh mayor”

July 29, 2025, 8:10 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Post-Gazette: With just weeks left in a grueling Democratic primary election that could shape Pittsburgh’s future, mayoral challenger Corey O’Connor’s dominant lead was slipping away as the incumbent seized the momentum. With help from progressive supporters, Mayor Ed Gainey ramped… Continue reading

“Montana Initiative to File Bold Blueprint to Challenge Citizens United; New Amendment Would Use Corporate Law to Ban Political Spending”

July 28, 2025, 2:47 pmcampaign finance, Plutocrats United, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Press release via email: The Transparent Election Initiative, a Montana organization, today released the public draft of a historic constitutional amendment that takes direct aim at Citizens United—and the corporate and dark money it unleashed into Montana’s politics. The amendment… Continue reading

“Democrats Plan $20 Million Fund to Target Texas Republicans for Redistricting”

July 28, 2025, 8:34 amcampaign finance, campaigns, redistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: The largest super PAC backing House Democrats is creating a new fund with upward of $20 million to target congressional Republicans in Texas if legislators there follow through on plans to redraw district lines to eliminate Democratic seats ahead… Continue reading

“New Eric Adams ‘Donors’ Say They Never Gave to His Reelection Campaign”

July 24, 2025, 7:27 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

The City reports: “Just weeks after the Trump administration pulled off the dismissal of corrupt fundraising charges against Mayor Eric Adams, it appears that his reelection campaign was at it again . . . . The Adams campaign in… Continue reading