Category Archives: campaigns

“Super PACs and Dark Money Groups Outspent Candidates in a Record Number of Races in 2018”

December 19, 2018, 8:58 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Report: As Democrats and Republicans battled for dominance in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2018, super PACs and dark money groups collectively outspent the candidates’ own campaigns in a recordbreaking 16 races, according to data… Continue reading

#NC09: “Attorney: Man at center of 9th District election investigation has violated no laws”

December 19, 2018, 8:54 amcampaignsRick Hasen

WRAL: The attorney for McCrae Dowless, the Bladen County political operative at the center of a state investigation into election irregularities in the 9th Congressional District, said Tuesday that her client “has not violated any state or federal campaign laws,… Continue reading

North Carolina Governor to Veto Bill Allowing a New Primary and General Election in #NC09 in the Event NC Elections Board Finds Fraud

December 18, 2018, 1:08 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

AP reports. As with the voter id bill, this one may be subject to a veto override. Republicans want a new primary in case the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, is tainted by the allegations of fraud in Bladen County.

Trump Foundation Shutting Down in Settlement as NY AG Finds, Among Other Things, Illegal Coordination with the Trump Campaign

December 18, 2018, 8:08 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced that the Donald J. Trump Foundation is dissolving as her office pursues its lawsuit against the charity, Trump and his three eldest children. The attorney general’s suit, filed in June, alleged… Continue reading

“Editorial: N.C. GOP, more than state Elections Board, needs transparency”

December 18, 2018, 7:51 amabsentee ballots, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WRAL editorial: It is hard to imagine where the North Carolina GOP leadership found the gall to have the Ninth Congressional District Republican Executive Committee pass a “resolution” demanding the State Board of Elections “immediately certify” Mark Harris the… Continue reading

“Tulsi Gabbard’s birthplace could create political fodder in national campaign”

December 17, 2018, 5:37 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Star Advertiser: Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was born a U.S. citizen and served two tours of duty in the Middle East as a member of the Army National Guard. She’s served in elective office — as a member of the… Continue reading

“The mostly unanswerable question: Which close races were won by dirty tricks?”

December 17, 2018, 8:32 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Philip Bump for WaPo: When Georgia’s secretary of state, Brian Kemp, announced on the weekend before this year’s midterm elections that Democrats in the state had tried to illegally access the state’s voter database, the announcement was treated with a… Continue reading

Today’s Must-Read: “Russian Effort to Influence 2016 Election Targeted African-Americans”

December 17, 2018, 8:26 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: The Russian influence campaign on social media in the 2016 election made an extraordinary effort to target African-Americans, used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard of posts on Instagram… Continue reading

“Trump was in the room during hush money discussions with tabloid publisher”

December 13, 2018, 2:24 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NBC News: Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 when his lawyer Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker discussed ways Pecker could help counter negative stories about Trump’s relationships with women, NBC News… Continue reading

“Trump Inauguration Spending Under Criminal Investigation by Federal Prosecutors”

December 13, 2018, 2:22 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether President Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it raised from donations, people familiar with the matter said. The criminal probe by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office,… Continue reading

“As Election Fraud Probe Centers On N.C.’s 9th District, A Cynical Cloud Settles In”

December 13, 2018, 12:10 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NPR: Pat Melvin, a realtor in Elizabethtown, N.C., has been a friend of Dowless for 30 years. He says the accusations being made against Dowless and the Harris campaign are going to ruin politics in the state’s 9th District.… Continue reading

“A Guide to Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations”

December 13, 2018, 11:48 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Steven Sholk’s annual review, now ready for your downloading pleasure.

Brad Smith and Rick Hasen Join Podcast with Constitution Center’s Jeffrey Rosen to Debate: “Cohen, Trump, and Campaign Finance Law”

December 13, 2018, 11:40 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

This is the podcast you’ve been waiting for: President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to several crimes, including illegally making hush money payments to two women alleging affairs with then-candidate… Continue reading

“Senate votes to overturn Trump administration donor disclosure rule for ‘dark money’ groups”

December 12, 2018, 8:44 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: The Senate on Wednesday voted 50 to 49 to overturn a Trump administration policy that allows politically active nonprofits to withhold from the government the identities of their donors, underscoring a growing unease among Democrats over the influence of… Continue reading

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