Category Archives: campaign finance

“‘Dark Money’ Helped Pave Joe Biden’s Path to the White House”

January 25, 2021, 7:31 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Bloomberg: President Joe Biden benefited from a record-breaking amount of donations from anonymous donors to outside groups backing him, meaning the public will never have a full accounting of who helped him win the White House.Biden’s winning campaign was… Continue reading

“Shell companies and ‘dark money’ may hide details of Trump ties to DC protests”

January 22, 2021, 10:37 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Anna Massoglia for Open Secrets: Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign aides played key roles orchestrating a rally protesting certification of President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 presidential election before hundreds of rioters breached the U.S.… Continue reading

“How the Capitol Riot Is Affecting Corporate Political Spending”

January 14, 2021, 6:57 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs.

“How Sheldon Adelson’s Death Could Affect the G.O.P.’s Future”

January 13, 2021, 7:13 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: The death of Sheldon G. Adelson, the casino magnate who used his vast fortune to tip the balance of power in Washington over the last decade by helping Republicans take control of the House, the Senate and eventually… Continue reading

Sheldon Adelson, Probably the Biggest Individual Donor (with His Spouse) to Political Campaigns in American History, Has Died

January 12, 2021, 7:22 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

So reports the Las Vegas Review Journal. Condolences to his family. Adelson and his wife gave at least $218 million in contributions to federal candidates and committees just in the 2020 election cycle.

“Capitol Riot Prompts Some Big Banks and Companies to Pause Political Funding”

January 11, 2021, 7:50 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

WSJ: Two of the biggest U.S. banks and other corporations said they are pausing or reviewing their political action committee donations in the wake of last week’s riot at the Capitol.JPMorgan JPM -0.01% Chase & Co. and Citigroup… Continue reading

Breaking: Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case About Disclosure of Funders to Certain Nonprofit Organizations, With Implications That Could Lead Courts to Strike Some Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws

January 8, 2021, 3:48 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The Court’s order list is here. Here’s an earlier explanation from the Philanthropy Roundtable: For those following donor-privacy issues, there was an important development in the case known as Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra in mid-December. The… Continue reading

Jan 12 Cato Event: “Campaign Finance and American Democracy: What the Public Really Thinks and Why It Matters”

January 8, 2021, 1:55 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Details of event about the new Primo/Milyo book: In recent decades, and particularly since the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, lawmakers and other elites have told Americans that stricter campaign finance laws are needed… Continue reading

“Democrats in Georgia Senate contests take in more than $200M”

December 25, 2020, 10:17 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

AP reports: The Democrats running for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats each raised more than $100 million over two months, a massive haul that eclipsed campaign contributions to their Republican opponents and reflects the high stakes of the… Continue reading

True the Vote’s “Partnering” with Georgia Republican Party Raising New Legal Questions

December 23, 2020, 2:57 pmcampaign finance, chicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AP reports.

Michael Malbin Retires After 21 Years as Director of the Campaign Finance Institute

December 20, 2020, 10:02 amcampaign finance, election law bizRick Hasen

Michael Malbin has been one of the most important and careful scholars tracking empirical developments in campaign finance as a professor at SUNY Albany and for 21 years as director of the influential Campaign Finance Institute. I rely on… Continue reading

“Trump’s Future: Tons of Cash and Plenty of Options for Spending It”

December 18, 2020, 9:32 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Donald J. Trump will exit the White House as a private citizen next month perched atop a pile of campaign cash unheard-of for an outgoing president, and with few legal limits on how he can spend it.Deflated by a… Continue reading

“Secret donor name in Florida Senate races wiped from records, replaced”

December 15, 2020, 8:10 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Tampa Bay Times: The name of the mystery donor behind a $550,000 effort that helped promote no-party candidates in three key Florida Senate races, including one that is under investigation, was changed in campaign finance reports over the weekend.While making… Continue reading

“The Supreme Court May Soon Rule on Donor Privacy”

December 15, 2020, 8:05 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Philanthropy Roundtable: For those following donor-privacy issues, there was an important development in the case known as Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra in mid-December. The current status of this litigation is that the plaintiffs have petitioned the U.S. Supreme… Continue reading