Category Archives: campaigns

“‘Friends and family’ super PACs play big in some House races”

May 31, 2016, 6:57 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

USA Today: A USA TODAY analysis of newly filed reports found 182 super PACs with three or fewer donors during the 2016 election cycle. In all, they have collected $71.6 million or nearly 10% of the $766 million raised … Continue reading

“Liberals Versus Political Speech; The Left wants to put people behind bars for expressing opinions that it doesn’t like.”

May 31, 2016, 6:54 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

John McGinnis in City Journal.

“Television Networks Struggle to Provide Equal Airtime in the Era of Trump”

May 30, 2016, 5:53 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Last week, none of the three major cable news networks — CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC — carried Mrs. Clinton’s speech to a workers’ union in Las Vegas, where she debuted sharp new attack lines against Mr. Trump.… Continue reading

“‘You’re mistaken. I don’t have a commercial’: Record special interest funds present an ‘awkward’ situation for state candidates”

May 30, 2016, 11:48 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

LAT: Independent expenditures already have cracked $24 million in the run-up to the June 7 primary, with millions more likely to come in over the next week. The spending has set a record and is a hefty increase from $16.7… Continue reading

“Trump camp concedes it’s low on money”

May 28, 2016, 9:20 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Washington Examiner: The notice came when Paul Manafort, Trump’s senior advisor, met with a group of Senate Republican chiefs of staff for lunch last week, sources familiar with the meeting told the Washington Examiner. The admission suggests that Trump will… Continue reading

“Gov. Brown to decide whether California voters will sound off in November on money in politics”

May 27, 2016, 12:27 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

LAT: Lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a November ballot measure asking voters about the growing role of undisclosed donors in political campaigns, a non-binding anti-Citizens United measure that now needs the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown….But Republicans… Continue reading

“Clinton’s Best Defense”

May 27, 2016, 11:48 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Eliza Newlin Carney: Nevertheless, Clinton’s reliance on costly ad blitzes to defend herself against critics makes her vulnerable to further attacks. Her appeals to Wall Street donors andcoordination with such big money groups as Correct the Record reinforce… Continue reading

“Trump is borrowing the GOP brand. He’ll resist bending to party leaders”

May 27, 2016, 8:19 amcampaigns, political partiesRick Hasen

Dan Balz in WaPo: It’s been called a hostile takeover of the Republican Party, but there’s little that has happened since Donald Trump became the GOP’s presumptive nominee to suggest he wants anything to do with the party. He’s borrowing… Continue reading

“They Tilt Right, but Top Chief Executives Don’t Give to Trump”

May 27, 2016, 8:18 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: The C-suite leans right. Republican candidates have drawn overwhelming support from the highest-paid chief executives in the country this election cycle, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politicsconducted for The New York Times. That may… Continue reading

“The Dream is Dead: Can Taxpayer Money Save Presidential Campaigns?”

May 27, 2016, 8:07 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Shorenstein Center report.

“Democrats Prepare Major Campaign Finance Reform Push”

May 26, 2016, 8:03 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

National Journal: It will offer Democrats, who are fighting to win back the Senate majority, a way to put Republicans on the defensive politically over the role of money in politics. The package could also be a preview of what… Continue reading

“Pillar of Law Files Lawsuit for Convention Delegates’ Rights to Free Speech”

May 26, 2016, 7:44 amcampaign finance, campaigns, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

Release: The Pillar of Law Institute filed a lawsuit in Wyoming federal court today, challenging a law that prohibits delegates to political party conventions from accepting books, travel stipends, and legal assistance from non-profits. “For the upcoming Republican Convention,… Continue reading