Category Archives: campaigns

“Court Upholds N.C. Statute That Criminalizes Knowingly/Recklessly Libelous Statements About Candidates”

August 9, 2022, 3:10 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Eugene Volokh blogs: Grimmett v. Costa, decided today by Judge Catherine Eagles (M.D.N.C.), refused to issue a preliminary injunction against a N.C. statute that makes it a misdemeanor[f]or any person to publish or cause to be circulated derogatory… Continue reading

“Senate GOP escalates its attack on Google over email spam”

August 5, 2022, 6:56 amcampaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Republican caucus, is preparing to escalate its attack on Google over the company’s email spam filter, which it blames for recent fundraising disappointments, according to documents obtained by… Continue reading

“The Effect of Television Advertising in United States Elections”

May 2, 2022, 6:47 amcampaignsRick Hasen

New in APSR from Sides, Vavreck, and Warshaw. Abstract: We provide a comprehensive assessment of the influence of television advertising on United States election outcomes from 2000–2018. We expand on previous research by including presidential, Senate, House, gubernatorial, Attorney General,… Continue reading

“Democratic Dollars Flow Once Again to Likely Lost Causes”

April 20, 2022, 7:15 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Gary Chambers Jr. burst onto the national scene in 2020 with a viral video of him castigating the racism of the East Baton Rouge school district. Now, he has captured the hearts and wallets of young liberals with a… Continue reading

“Political ads are allowed to mislead you and are often designed to do so”

April 14, 2022, 6:49 amcampaignsRick Hasen

WRAL reports.

“2024 hopefuls are already in a dark-money arms race”

April 11, 2022, 7:04 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: When Mike Pompeo announced his political action committee last June, he set off a wave of news stories heralding the move as a potential step toward a 2024 presidential campaign. But the former secretary of State kept his next… Continue reading

“Abrams files lawsuit to use fundraising law meant to aid Kemp”

March 23, 2022, 8:59 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking court approval to use a law that gives Republican Gov. Brian Kemp a massive fundraising advantage in his reelection bid this year.The challenge asks the court… Continue reading

“Philadelphia judge turned Congressional candidate who accepted rival’s cash suspended”

March 21, 2022, 5:59 pmcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Reuters: A former Philadelphia municipal judge who accepted $90,000 from another candidate to abandon his congressional campaign has been hit with a four-year suspension by Pennsylvania’s high court, according to a new order.The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday… Continue reading

“Now in Your Inbox: Political Misinformation”

December 13, 2021, 10:58 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Maggie Astor for the NYT: A few weeks ago, Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, falsely claimed that the centerpiece of President Biden’s domestic agenda, a $1.75 trillion bill to battle climate change and extend the nation’s social… Continue reading

“That ‘Team Beto’ Fund-Raising Email? It Might Not Be From Beto.”

November 27, 2021, 1:15 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Shane Goldmacher for the NYT: Where the money goes from there can be murky, though big payments to the operatives and consulting firms that operate those PACs have drawn increasing scrutiny from political colleagues, regulators and law enforcement alike.Some of… Continue reading

“House Democrats Have New Strategy for Voters of Color”

November 17, 2021, 1:57 pmcampaigns, political partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

All Things Considered, NPR The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched a new, multimillion-dollar initiative “to engage and mobilize voters of color ahead of the midterm elections, including investments in local organizing” and in strategies to stymie “Republican efforts to… Continue reading

“NC operative Dowless rejects plea deal on ballot fraud accusations. Here’s what’s next”

November 16, 2021, 6:52 pmcampaigns, chicaneryTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Charlotte Observer McCrae Dowless faces 13 state felony charges largely related to his role in in Mark Harris’ 2018 run, as a Republican, for Congress in the North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. Dowless rejected a plea deal through which… Continue reading

“Political Campaigns Can Still Target You on Facebook”

November 15, 2021, 6:00 pmcampaigns, cheap speechTabatha Abu El-Haj

From Nick Coransaniti at the NY Times “On Tuesday, Meta, the social media company formerly known as Facebook, announced changes that, on the surface, would appear to reduce such targeting. But it remains entirely possible for campaigns to get around… Continue reading

“Trump Insiders Are Quietly Paying Teen Memers For Posts”

September 9, 2021, 8:06 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

HuffPost: In the fever swamps of Instagram, a network of right-wing meme accounts run by teenage boys and young men has erupted into an advertising powerhouse reaching millions. These memers — who regularly post far-right conspiracy theories, anti-vaccine propaganda and… Continue reading