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June 2009
- GOPers Spot End Run Around Election Law
  
  Politico | Jun 9, 09 1:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A decision by campaign-finance regulators has a pair of GOP strategists hoping to skirt limits set by election law, Politico reports. The Federal Election Commission recently OK’d ad buys made by a solo activist’s one-man corporation. That gave the strategists an idea: Rich individuals could avoid rules against pooling resources by calling themselves corporations while all consulting with the same group. More »
May 2009
- Palin Shopping Spree OK: Feds
  
  Anchorage Daily News | May 19, 09 3:24 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Federal Election Commission dismissed today a complaint that the Republican National Committee broke the law when it bought $150,000 in clothes for then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The FEC said purchases were “coordinated party expenditures” for campaign purposes, and did not violate a ban on using campaign funds for personal expenses as a watchdog group alleged. More »
- Mutual Pal Pushed Palin to Court Clintons
  
  Politico | May 19, 09 10:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Maryland lawyer who is a sometime adviser to Sarah Palin urged her to forge an alliance with Hillary Clinton, reports Politico. John Coale, aka Greta Van Susteren's hubby, suggested that Palin donate funds from her political action committee to help Clinton retire campaign debt. Palin was open to reaching out to Clinton, said an aide, but hardcore donors “would be crushed” if she passed along their money. More »
- Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money
  
  Politico | May 12, 09 9:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Arlen Specter may have brought his years of experience in the Senate across the aisle with him, but that doesn’t mean all his donors will follow. And the timing—it’s 2010 campaign season—complicates matters, Jeanne Cummings notes for Politico. “He’s not the world’s most humble person, even for a US senator, and it’s going to be a humbling experience,” warns the campaign manager for another party-switcher. More »
- Civil War Rages at RNC
  
  Politico | May 1, 09 9:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Behind closed doors at the Republican National Committee, a battle’s raging over how much decision-making power chairman Michael Steele should have and, by implication, how much the party trusts him. Some RNC members, led by Treasurer Randy Pullen, the Arizona party chairman, are pushing strict oversight on Steele’s spending power, reports Politico. They say such measures have been standard in the past, but a Steele ally calls it an “attempt to usurp the chairman’s authority.” More »
March 2009
- Supreme Court Will Rule on Hillary Documentary
  
  Associated Press | Mar 21, 09 7:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Supreme Court judges will go the movies next week when they hear arguments about a feature-length film on Hillary Clinton, the AP reports. Screened in eight theaters during the presidential campaign, Hillary: the Movie fizzled after federal courts said the scathing documentary and its commercials amounted to campaign ads. Citizens United, the conservative group that released the film, has appealed. More »
February 2009
- Commerce Pick Has Fundraising Skeletons
  
  Michelle Malkin Blog | Feb 24, 09 6:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - President Obama's administration surely hopes Gary Locke will prove a relatively uncontroversial pick for Commerce after the messy Bill Richardson and Judd Gregg nominations. Not likely, writes Michelle Malkin, who covered Locke for the Seattle Times when he was Washington's governor. Locke, she reminds, faced a series of probes from the IRS and Congress over fundraising violations by his gubernatorial campaign. More »
- RNC Chief Sacks Staff; Feds Probe His 2006 Race
  
  Washington Post | Feb 7, 09 10:52 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - New RNC chief Michael Steele is quickly making headlines, but not exactly of the good-news sort. The Post reports that he's laid off practically all of the RNC staff, a not-too-startling development given the GOP's big election losses, but one that forces him to start from scratch as the party tries to hold its own against the Obama administration. Steele also is facing allegations of financial shady business related to his 2006 Senate race. More »
- It's the Small Change We Should Believe In
  
  American Prospect | Feb 4, 09 2:16 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The 2008 election marked the death knell of post-Watergate public financing, Mark Schmitt writes for the American Prospect , but the raft of small donations that killed the system heralds a hopeful future. The public financing system was designed—and failed—to limit the influence of special interests: “Since the ability to organize was distributed unequally, regulating organizing was essential to equality.” But the emergence of the Internet allowed small donors to organize with a powerful voice. More »
January 2009
- At RNC, Change Means Bashing Bush
  
  Washington Post | Jan 28, 09 12:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - In deciding on a new chairman, Republican National Committee members are wrestling with ambivalence about George W. Bush, the Washington Post reports. Incumbent Mike Duncan, appointed by the former president, faces something of a backlash. Duncan “never criticized Bush when the president was wrong,” says one member. “He’s the agent of the establishment, and we need a change in personnel.” More »
- Dems Expect Fundraising Decline
  
  Politico | Jan 26, 09 12:11 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The economic slowdown is having its expected effect on Democratic fundraising, and the added effects of “donor fatigue” and the magnetic force that draws campaign cash to Barack Obama could leave them pinched for the next election cycle, Politico reports. But things could be worse—like they are for Republicans. More »
- 100 Families Gave $100K to Obama
  
  Washington Post | Jan 18, 09 12:27 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama’s political efforts haven’t run purely on grassroots fuel: almost 100 families that gave $100,000 or more made up an “elite” group of repeat donors over the past 2 years, the Washington Post reports. Current donation rules make whopping contributions possible if donors distribute funds among several committees. About a quarter of Obama’s political cash, meanwhile, came from donors of $200 or less. More »
December 2008
- McAuliffe's Fundraising Chops Worry Va. Gov Rivals
  
  Washington Post | Dec 29, 08 11:10 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Terry McAuliffe is planning a run for governor of Virginia, and, given the Democrat's formidable rep as a fundraiser, he’s looking like a major factor, reports the Washington Post . Virginia has little campaign finance regulation, meaning that McAuliffe, with his national network of deep-pocketed friends and his skill at charming new supporters, could raise as much as $80 million. “I think the sky is the limit,” says a former federal elections commissioner. More »
- Clinton Rents Campaign Mail List to Pay Debt
  
  ABC News | Dec 25, 08 7:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hillary Clinton's campaign has hit on a novel way of repaying its debt, ABC News reports. The campaign is renting out the vast list of email addresses compiled during the course of Clinton's failed presidential bid. Among the customers for the list, believed to be 5 million names strong, is the foundation of one William J. Clinton, which bought access to send out a fundraising appeal. More »
- Clinton Writes Off $13.2M Campaign Loan
  
  Bloomberg | Dec 23, 08 5:33 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hillary Clinton has formally written off the $13.2 million of her own money she lent to her presidential campaign, Bloomberg reports. The move is a big step toward shutting down her campaign committee and removing a potential stumbling block to her Senate confirmation as secretary of state. Clinton still owes vendors $6.4 million from her failed presidential run. More »
- The Contenders for RNC Chair
  
  Politico | Dec 18, 08 10:03 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A largely thankless job running a down-and-out party—no wonder these guys are fighting tooth-and-nail. Politico handicaps the candidates for Republican National Committee chair: Mike Duncan: The current RNC chair’s record is mixed. Despite his prolific fundraising, he presided over both the 2008 disaster and the mini-rebound the party enjoyed in elections after November 4. More »
- Plouffe: This Was About Obama
  
  Portfolio | Dec 14, 08 11:02 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Stepping out from behind the curtain where he directed Barack Obama's earth-shaking campaign, David Plouffe quietly professes pride in the historic achievement to Lloyd Grove in Portfolio, and talks about a race where stability and consistency won the day and "Clinton might have won the nomination if she had just competed in the far-flung caucus states." Plouffe, who jumped into Obama's corner in January 2007, points to the benefit of an impromptu run: having to make it up as you go along. More »
- Obama Raised a Record $750M
  
  New York Times | Dec 5, 08 8:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama literally raised more money for his campaign than he knew what to do with. He hauled in a record $750 million over the course of the campaign cycle, reports the New York Times. When the race ended, $30 million remained unspent. By comparison, John McCain raised $220 million in the primaries, about half of Obama's total, before opting for public funding in the general election. More »
- Palin Stylists Collected $110K for 10-Week Campaign
  
  New York Times | Dec 5, 08 5:17 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Sarah Palin's hair and makeup stylists cost John McCain's campaign $110,000 for the 10 weeks she was vice-presidential candidate, reports the New York Times . Palin’s makeup artist—an Emmy nominee for her work on So You Think You Can Dance ?—pocketed over $68,000 for the campaign work. Her hair stylist made $42,000. More »
November 2008
- Small Donors Didn't Drive His Campaign: Study
  
  New York Times | Nov 24, 08 9:12 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The little guy didn't fill Barack Obama's campaign coffers after all, a new non-partisan study says. True, almost 50% of his donations were $200 or less, but many of those donors gave again. Only about a quarter of them stopped at two C-notes, a figure in the same range as donations to John McCain. About 80% of Obama's money came from people who gave more than $1,000, the New York Times reports. More »