Category Archives: campaigns

“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

“Hush-Money Probe Gathered Evidence From Trump’s Inner Circle”

April 10, 2019, 5:53 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WSJ: The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office has gathered more evidence than previously known in its criminal investigation of hush payments to two women who alleged affairs with Donald Trump, including from members of the president’s inner circle.Prosecutors interviewed Hope Hicks,… Continue reading

“Devin Nunes Sues McClatchy Newspaper Chain, Alleging ‘Character Assassination’”

April 9, 2019, 7:02 amcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Less than a month after suing Twitter for allowing its users to insult him, Representative Devin Nunes, a Republican from California, said he was suing the McClatchy Company, a newspaper chain, over what he called “character assassination.”The… Continue reading

“Deal reached on lawsuit over Mich. ballot selfie ban”

April 8, 2019, 8:29 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Detroit News: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a ban on so-called ballot selfies.Joel Crookston, a voter in the Kalamazoo area, sued in 2016 to try to stop Michigan’s ban on taking photos of… Continue reading

Shenanigans Going on with Ohio Ballot Measure Purportedly Aimed at Getting State to Assign Electoral College Votes to the Popular Vote Winner

April 5, 2019, 12:25 pmcampaigns, chicanery, electoral collegeRick Hasen

John Koza, the force behind the National Popular Vote initiative writes: Ohio news organizations have been trying to identify the mysterious backers of an initiative petition proposing an amendment to the Ohio Constitution requiring the Ohio legislature to guarantee… Continue reading

“House Panel Seeks to Interview Top Organizer of Trump Inauguration”

April 4, 2019, 8:01 amcampaignsRick Hasen

WSJ: The House Intelligence Committee is seeking an interview with and documents from a top organizer on President Trump’s inaugural committee, according to people familiar with the request, signaling that Congress is expanding its probe of how the fund… Continue reading

“Black leaders blast Dem war on super PACs”

April 3, 2019, 11:45 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Top black donors and operatives are calling on fellow Democrats to abandon their push against super PACs, arguing that one of Democrats’ most popular 2020 talking points will ultimately cut off much-needed resources for candidates of color.In a letter… Continue reading

“Online Campaign Contributions in US Politics: A Conversation”

April 2, 2019, 11:30 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

SSRC: In this conversation hosted by the Media & Democracy program, program officer Mike Miller discusses the trajectory of campaign financing in recent elections with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy (Stetson University) and Heath Brown (John Jay College of Criminal Justice). In… Continue reading

“How fighting political disinformation could collide with the First Amendment”

April 1, 2019, 8:10 amcampaignsRick Hasen

The Fix reports.

“Even Liberal Democrats Can’t Quit Wealthy Donors and Their Big Checks”

March 30, 2019, 9:33 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Smart Shane Goldmacher and Jontahan Martin in the NYT: The race for cash in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary is reaching a frenetic peak this weekend with a dozen fund-raisers on both coasts, as presidential hopefuls rush to vacuum up… Continue reading