John Martin has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Pittsburgh Law Review). Here is the abstract:

Money in politics is ever-increasing in the United States, and the ways in which it manifests is ever-changing. The 2024 election cycle was no different in this regard, with numerous unique issues in campaign finance having arisen. The election now being over, a retrospection of these newer problems seems due. This Paper provides just that. Specifically, this Paper reflects upon a number of newfound ways we saw money in politics complicate the 2024 elections, and, on a higher level, corrode our democratic processes. Structurally, this Paper is organized as a series of five smaller essays that each describes a particular issue we saw in 2024, contextualizes the issue within existing law, and finally offers some thoughts on how we might address the issue going forward either doctrinally or legislatively.

The breakdown of covered topics is as follows: Part I looks at a phenomenon we saw in the 2024 presidential primaries that I call “cash for donations,” where multiple candidates offered gift cards in exchange for $1 donations that helped them gain a spot on the debate stage. Part II similarly analyzes Elon Musk’s “cash for registration” scheme, in which he offered cash prizes to registered voters in swing states who signed a petition put out by his super PAC. Part III maintains a focus on Musk, discussing his use of X to ban accounts raising money for Kamala Harris’s campaign. Part IV shifts focus to self-funded candidates, in two parts: The first considers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offering his running mate position to Nicole Shanahan in exchange for her enormous self-funding capabilities, and explores the implications this apparent quid pro quo should have on how current campaign finance doctrine treats regulations on self-funded campaigns. The second section meanwhile examines the rise in self-loaning among federal candidates following the 2022 Supreme Court decision FEC v. Cruz, which struck down the federal limit on self-loan repayment. Lastly, Part V discusses the uncertain future of regulations that limit the ability of “foreign-influenced corporations” from engaging in political spending.