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1 month ago | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker |Douglas Keith
The upcoming election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court just became the most expensive judicial race in American history. Thanks to unlimited spending allowed by Citizens United and other court decisions, money is flowing into the race from all over the country. This infusion of national spending risks drowning out voices from within the state.
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1 month ago | 
brennancenter.org | Marina Pino |Ian Vandewalker
New York State’s pathbreaking public campaign financing program made its debut in the 2024 election. It was a clear success, with broad participation among candidates from both parties who relied significantly more on small donors from their districts instead of big money and special interests compared with previous election cycles.
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2 months ago | 
brennancenter.org | Eric Petry |Ian Vandewalker
President Trump campaigned on providing economic relief to working Americans, promising to “drive down prices” on day one.
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Nov 1, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker
View the entire Money in the 2024 Election series Wealthy donors giving at least $5 million to support a presidential candidate are spending more than twice as much as they did in 2020. That’s according to our new analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission looking at super PACs that are devoted to supporting Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.
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Oct 28, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker
Is dark money — spending by groups that hide their donors — a problem in our elections? Some have argued that the concern is overblown, pointing to Federal Election Commission data that appears to show spending on campaign ads by dark money groups has decreased since it peaked in 2012. The truth, however, is that many of these groups have simply redirected their spending to avenues not captured in that data. They increasingly funnel money to super PACs rather than running ads of their own.
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Jun 24, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker
View the entire Money in the 2024 Election series This year’s congressional elections in Ohio demonstrate several key trends in money in politics. Super PACs funded by out-of-state megadonors influenced primaries, outspending several candidates in competitive races. The biggest spenders drove an intraparty ideological showdown on the right, with big money funding both establishment Republicans and far-right candidates.
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Jun 24, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker
View the entire Money in the 2024 Election series This year’s congressional elections in Ohio demonstrate several key trends in money in politics. Super PACs funded by out-of-state megadonors influenced primaries, outspending several candidates in competitive races. The biggest spenders drove an intraparty ideological showdown on the right, with big money funding both establishment Republicans and far-right candidates.
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May 8, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker
A boom in small donations has transformed recent elections, signaling that millions more people than ever before are engaged in politics through campaign finance. Small donors gave more than $4 billion in the 2020 federal elections, up from $1 billion in 2016. Thanks to social media and online fundraising platforms, this nationwide pool of donors has become an important target of political fundraising. In a democracy, broad participation in this critical aspect of the electoral process is good.
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Mar 29, 2024 | 
commondreams.org | Ian Vandewalker
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that his pick for vice president is Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy tech entrepreneur and lawyer. Shanahan’s prior political activity seems to be limited to giving money, including a $4 million donation to a pro-RFK Jr. super PAC to help fund a Super Bowl ad. Kennedy’s campaign has raised far less than the 2024 front-runners, and he may see a running mate with the ability to self-fund as necessary to keeping his bid afloat.
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Mar 27, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Ian Vandewalker
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that his pick for vice president is Nicole Shanahan, a wealthy tech entrepreneur and lawyer. Shanahan’s prior political activity seems to be limited to giving money, including a $4 million donation to a pro-RFK Jr. super PAC to help fund a Super Bowl ad. Kennedy’s campaign has raised far less than the 2024 frontrunners, and he may see a running mate with the ability to self-fund as necessary to keeping his bid afloat.
