Category Archives: campaigns

“Trump’s small-dollar donor fundraising is beset by confusion and fatigue”

October 10, 2024, 7:02 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

AP: Donald Trump’s contributions from small-dollar donors have plummeted since his last White House campaign, presenting the former president with a financial challenge as he tries to keep pace with the Democrats’ fundraising machine. Fewer than a third of… Continue reading

“The Surprising Reality of Political Violence in America”

September 22, 2024, 5:44 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: When Donald J. Trump was nearly assassinated in Pennsylvania in July, a Dartmouth political scientist named Sean Westwood happened to be in the middle of a research project asking Americans about political violence. At the time, many feared that… Continue reading

“Elon Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC ramps up swing state operations”

September 15, 2024, 9:18 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: A super PAC that Elon Musk helped create has ramped up spending on behalf of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in recent weeks, splashing out millions of dollars primarily in swing states. The burst of activity adds to the… Continue reading

I Spoke with WNYC’s “On the Media” About Why the Biden-Harris Switch is Not “Antidemocratic” and Potential Legal Issues with the Switch

July 25, 2024, 7:12 amcampaignsRick Hasen

You can listen here. Moments after President Biden withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday, GOP leaders rushed to tug at any loose threads in his withdrawal. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson threatened legal challenges to his withdrawal,… 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

I Spoke with Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance for Their Podcast on Legal Issues Surrounding the Biden Withdrawal

July 23, 2024, 3:57 pmballot access, campaignsRick Hasen

You can listen here. It was a great conversation.

I Spoke with the PBS News Hour About Legal Issues Surrounding the Biden Withdrawal (Link to Video)

July 21, 2024, 3:00 pmballot access, campaignsRick Hasen

You can watch at this link.

“Biden and Trump Have Succeeded in Breaking Reality”

July 20, 2024, 4:38 amauthoritarian threats in US, campaigns, political partiesDan Tokaji

From M. Gessen in NYT, an astute commentary on where we’re at: Biden and Trump represent entirely different values and policies…. Biden is right: Trump poses an existential threat to democracy. But both campaigns are creating a sense of… Continue reading

“Trump asks judge to toss hush money conviction and dismiss case following Supreme Court immunity ruling”

July 12, 2024, 10:26 amcampaigns, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

ABC News: Former President Donald Trump has asked a New York judge to dismiss his criminal hush money case and vacate his conviction on 34 felony counts by arguing the trial was “tainted” by evidence and testimony that the… Continue reading

“There’s Only One Reason Biden Won’t Drop Out”

July 6, 2024, 7:37 amcampaignsRick Hasen

The Atlantic: Why is Joe Biden still in the presidential race? In the days since his disastrous debate performance last week, pressure on the 81-year-old incumbent to step aside has continued to mount, forcing the candidate and his defenders to… Continue reading

Democratic, Republican fundraising for election litigation hits $70 million in 15 months of 2023-24 election cycle, up from $45 million in 2020 (but down from $101 million in 2022)

July 5, 2024, 6:35 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Continuing my occasional look at fundraising earmarked for election litigation, the first 15 months of this election cycle show more than $70 million fundraised earmarked for election litigation. That’s an increase from four years ago when it was nearly… Continue reading

“Major Democratic Donors Devise Plans to Pressure Biden to Step Aside”

July 4, 2024, 4:03 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: After several days of quiet griping and hoping that President Biden would abandon his re-election campaign on his own, many wealthy Democratic donors are trying to take matters into their own hands. Wielding their fortunes as both carrot and… Continue reading