Category Archives: campaign finance

“Trump Campaign Suggests Omarosa Manigault Newman Pay for $1 Million in Ad Spending”

October 13, 2020, 11:44 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: The Trump campaign has suggested that Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide, pay for an ad campaign costing nearly $1 million as a “corrective” remedy for her critical comments about President Trump in her 2018 book and… Continue reading

“‘Green tsunami’: Inside Senate Republicans’ financial freak-out”

October 12, 2020, 9:13 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: The online fundraising edge that Democrats have enjoyed for years has mushroomed into an overpowering force, with small-dollar donors smashing “donate” buttons over the last three months to process their disgust for President Donald Trump, fury with Senate… Continue reading

“Jaime Harrison raised record-breaking $57 million in third quarter, campaign says”

October 11, 2020, 9:50 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: Democrat Jaime Harrison raised a record-breaking $57 million in the past three months in his bid to unseat Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), shattering the mark for a Senate candidate.The single-quarter haul Harrison raised from July through September smashes… Continue reading

“Trump Engineered a Sudden Windfall in 2016 A Campaign Funds Dwindled”

October 9, 2020, 9:03 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Donald J. Trump needed money.His “self-funded” presidential campaign was short on funds, and he was struggling to win over leery Republican donors. His golf courses and the hotel he would soon open in the Old Post Office in… Continue reading

Mitch McConnell Laments the Small Donor Revolution

October 9, 2020, 7:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

I’m going to have a lot more to say about this after the election: On Thursday, in a conference call with a group of lobbyists, Mr. McConnell vented that the party’s Senate candidates are being financially overwhelmed because of small-dollar… Continue reading

“Trump’s New Supreme Court Is Coming for the Next Dozen Elections”

October 5, 2020, 10:54 amcampaign finance, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece for New York. It begins: When Judge Amy Coney Barrett sits for questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee in mid-October, no doubt Democrats will pepper her with questions about whether she would recuse herself in… Continue reading

“Campaign Finance and American Democracy: What The Public Really Thinks and Why It Matters”

October 2, 2020, 1:20 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Looking forward to reading this new book from David Primo and Jeff Milyo.

“Court reopens door to ‘dark money’ in Arizona political races”

October 1, 2020, 10:05 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Tuscon.com: The Arizona Court of Appeals has reinstated a 2017 law that opens the door to “dark money” contributions to political races.The judges said Tuesday that the Republican-controlled Legislature was within its rights to decide that any group the… Continue reading

“Record $13 Billion Raised for 2020 Elections Spurs Ad Avalanche”

September 30, 2020, 11:28 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg Government: The 2020 election has generated a record $13.3 billion in federal campaign contributions, funding a barrage of political advertising that strategists say risks blurring candidate messaging.The unprecedented outpouring of campaign cash raised through Sept. 28 is more than… Continue reading

Wisconsin GOP tries to stop Racing Sausages from promoting civic participation

September 30, 2020, 11:21 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

The Wisconsin GOP sent a letter yesterday claiming that it would be improper “electioneering” and/or vote buying for MLB and the Brewers’ Racing Sausages to encourage early voting. The legal citations in the letter seem … off. The assertions with… Continue reading

“Facebook allowed hundreds of misleading super PAC ads, activist group finds”

September 24, 2020, 7:39 amcampaign finance, campaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

CNN: Facebook (FB) has allowed political advertisers to target hundreds of misleading ads about Joe Biden and the US Postal Service to swing-state voters ranging from Florida to Wisconsin in recent weeks, in an apparent failure to… Continue reading

“Streaming Services Are A ‘Wild West’ For Political Ads, Mozilla Finds”

September 23, 2020, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Video Insider: Political ads have followed consumers to popular streaming services. But unlike traditional TV broadcasters, streamers are not required to disclose how ads are targeted or who is viewing them. And while social media platforms have begun to… Continue reading

“Biden Has $466 Million in Bank, and a Huge Financial Edge on Trump”

September 20, 2020, 8:56 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Shane Goldmacher for the NYT: Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s campaign said on Sunday that it entered September with $466 million in the bank together with the Democratic Party, providing Mr. Biden a vast financial advantage of about $141 million… Continue reading

“Cash-strapped Trump campaign awaits a bailout from big donors”

September 17, 2020, 8:23 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Republican Party megadonors are racing to bail out President Donald Trump’s cash-strapped reelection campaign, with a newly formed super PAC pouring a further$25 million into battleground states.Preserve America is set to begin running a trio of TV commercials savaging… Continue reading