Category Archives: campaigns

“CRC Special Report Unveils Vast ‘Dark Money’ Network on the Left”

I expect we will hear a lot more about this new report: The political Left often criticizes—and the mainstream media frequently report on—the network of center-right nonprofits funded by billionaire entrepreneurs Charles and David Koch. But few politicos know… Continue reading

Why Democrats are Falling All Over Themselves to Find Small-Dollar Donors

April 17, 2019, 6:50 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Carrie Levine for CPI/538: But the time and energy going into cultivating a grassroots donor base early in the election cycle also carries clear benefits for the party and its eventual nominee — namely, a potentially massive pool of proven… Continue reading

“Wall Street critic Waters rakes in corporate campaign money”

April 16, 2019, 6:53 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Rep. Maxine Waters is embracing corporate campaign contributions as the new chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, even as some progressive Democrats have sworn off fundraising from businesses.The California Democrat’s campaign received about $210,329 in contributions during… Continue reading

“Trump and Sanders Campaigns Lead 2020 Fund-Raising Race”

April 16, 2019, 6:52 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: The two presidential candidates who entered 2019 with the largest bases of supporters — President Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont — led the 2020 field in fund-raising in the first quarter of the year.Presidential candidates were under… Continue reading

“Trump’s 2020 plan: Target seniors on Facebook”

April 16, 2019, 6:44 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Axios: The Trump campaign is spending nearly half (44%) of its Facebook ad budget to target users who are over 65 years old, as opposed to Democratic candidates who are only spending 27% of their budget on that demographic, according… Continue reading

“The Seven Things to Look for When Reading the Redacted Mueller Report”

April 15, 2019, 8:25 amcampaigns, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: Attorney General William Barr has indicated that a redacted version of the Mueller report is likely to be sent to Congress this week and made public. It could come any day… Continue reading

“How Albany is going after Trump’s taxes; A state bill that could force Trump to release his tax returns is not the first effort”

April 15, 2019, 7:42 amballot access, campaignsRick Hasen

City & State reports.

“Trump’s Campaign Machine Has Two-Year Head Start”

April 14, 2019, 1:38 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: Before any well-known Democrats even began their White House bids, President Trump’s re-election team had spent more than $83 million on rallies, fundraising and other expenses associated with the thick of a heated race.Mr. Trump set up his 2020 … Continue reading

“After Arrest of Julian Assange, the Russian Mysteries Remain”

April 12, 2019, 8:58 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: In June 2016, five months before the American presidential election, Julian Assange made a bold prediction during a little-noticed interview with a British television show.“WikiLeaks has a very big year ahead,” he said, just seconds after announcing that… Continue reading

“Early fundraising by 2020 Democrats shows they are in for a long, drawn-out fight”

April 12, 2019, 8:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: The limited early fundraising hauls announced by Democratic presidential hopefuls show that no clear front-runner has yet emerged in the race, and portend a drawn-out and divisive primary slog before the party unifies against President Trump.The overall sum… Continue reading

“Don’t blame our polarized politics on voters. Blame it on who runs for office in the first place.”

April 11, 2019, 7:12 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Monkey Cage: In his new book, “Who Wants to Run?” Stanford University political scientist Andrew Hall investigates a familiar question — why Congress is so polarized — but comes to a less familiar answer. He writes, “Most… Continue reading

“Broad cross-partisan coalition urges presidential candidates to disclose their big-money campaign fundraisers”

April 11, 2019, 7:05 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Issue One: Issue One was joined today by 15 other organizations from across the ideological spectrum in urging all Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to publicly disclose information about their campaign top fundraisers on a regular basis during the 2020… Continue reading