Category Archives: campaign finance

ELB Book Corner: Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny: “Capitalism, Campaign Finance, and Policymaking”

August 19, 2024, 7:52 amcampaign finance, ELB Book CornerRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Diana Dwyre and Robin Kolodny to the ELB Book Corner, authors of the new book, The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance: Why We Have the System We Have (University of Michigan Press). The 30% discount code… Continue reading

Shawn McCutcheon is Back

August 9, 2024, 1:30 pmcampaign financeMaine, RCVTabatha Abu El-Haj

Shawn McCutcheon: People running in races with ranked choice voting states should be allowed to accept several times the legal limit. On August 7, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request from Shaun McCutcheon. The requestor asks whether for… Continue reading

Campaign Finance Roundtable

August 6, 2024, 9:40 amcampaign financeTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Election Law Journal sponsors a panel on the practice of “redboxing,” a tactic used by candidates to coordinate with the political action committees that are supporting them. Moderator:Marc Meredith, PhDUniversity of PennsylvaniaParticipants:Saurav GhoshCampaign Legal CenterAbby WoodUniversity of Southern CaliforniaRichard… Continue reading

Selection of Governor Walz–Implicates Pay-to-Play Rules

August 6, 2024, 7:55 amcampaign finance2024 Election Cycle, Pay-to-PlayTabatha Abu El-Haj

Jason Abel and his colleagues at Steptoe flag that selecting a sitting Governor as a running mate implicates critical pay-to-pay rules. In this helpful brief, the authors lay out three sources of pay-to-play rules that now constrain the Harris campaign’s… Continue reading

Trump Campaign Complaint About Harris Using Biden-Harris Campaign Funds Is Unlikely to Get Anywhere at the FEC or In Court, and If It Does It Will Likely Take Years

July 23, 2024, 4:12 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

The New York Times reports that the Trump campaign has filed a complaint at the FEC against Kamala Harris for using the Biden-Harris campaign funds for her own campaign following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race. Most campaign finance lawyers… Continue reading

“ActBlue rakes in nearly $50 million in 7 hours after Harris campaign launch”

July 21, 2024, 8:00 pmcampaign financeDan Tokaji

The Hill on this post: “As of 9pm ET, grassroots supporters have raised $46.7 million through ActBlue following Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launch. This has been the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle. Small-dollar donors are fired… Continue reading

“Trump’s Conviction and Biden’s Poor Debate Sent Big Money Into the Race”

July 21, 2024, 6:29 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

NYT: New campaign-finance filings released this week revealed the degree to which Mr. Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts on May 30 and Mr. Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27 became seminal moments in the fund-raising race…. The… Continue reading

“Biden was far outspending Trump — with little to show for it — even before the debate”

July 21, 2024, 5:28 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Politico reports that Biden outspent Trump 6:1 in June, a “massive spending differential [that] helped Trump’s operation extend its cash advantage, underscoring the vastly different financial and political realities of the two campaigns at a key moment in the cycle.”… Continue reading

“Democratic donors begin mobilizing to raise money for Harris if she’s the nominee”

July 19, 2024, 5:50 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Politico: Allies of Vice President Kamala Harris have begun courting Democratic donors to provide financial support for her if President Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 race. One Democratic donor adviser has begun collecting pledges from female Democratic… Continue reading

What Happens to Biden’s Money If He Steps Aside?

July 18, 2024, 4:46 pmcampaign financeDan Tokaji

WaPo’s answer, amid growing whispers that the President may be coming to terms with reality: If Biden withdraws from the race, the dollars in his campaign account are considered “excess campaign funds” that can be contributed to the Democratic… Continue reading

“Biden’s Support From Big Donors Is Said to Plummet”

July 18, 2024, 4:40 pmcampaign financeDan Tokaji

NYT: “Wealthy supporters of President Biden’s campaign have slammed their wallets closed, with support from major donors in July on track to plummet to roughly half of the previous month’s amount if he remains in the race, according to… Continue reading

“Elon Musk Has Said He Is Committing Around $45 Million a Month to a New Pro-Trump Super PAC”

July 16, 2024, 10:02 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

WSJ Exclusive: “Elon Musk has said he plans to commit around $45 million a month to a new super political-action committee backing former President Donald Trump’s presidential run, according to people familiar with the matter.”

“Kennedy and West third-party ballot drives are pushed by secretive groups and Republican donors”

July 16, 2024, 6:25 amballot access, campaign finance, third partiesDan Tokaji

AP reports: “With early voting for the November presidential election set to begin in late September in some states, there are signs across the country that groups are trying to affect the outcome by using deceptive means — and… Continue reading

“Mayor Adams’ Reelection Campaign Raked in More Than $1 Million as Opponents Circle”

July 16, 2024, 5:01 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

The City: “[NYC] Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign reported raising more than $1 million from 1,472 donors in the first half of 2024, a show of strength that outperformed his rivals in the 2025 mayoral race.” It also reports that… Continue reading