The document summarizes campaign finance history in the United States from the 1970s to present. It discusses key court cases and acts that have shaped how money influences politics over time. Citizens United vs FEC is highlighted as a pivotal 2010 Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited spending by corporations and unions in elections, fueling a rise in "dark money" groups spending undisclosed amounts. Tables provide an overview of campaign contributions and spending for recent election cycles, demonstrating a growing role for unlimited outside spending groups.

2. Campaign Finance Humor

3. Milestones in Campaign Finance
• 1971 Watergate: “Hush Money” Burglers
hired by CREP. FEC created and spending
limits.
• 1979 – 2002: Soft Money Era . Lincoln
Bedroom visits. Ends with McCain-Feingold
Act
• 2007 onward – Whittling begins. Soft money
returns: 527s, “issue ads” and others grow.

4. Citizens United v. FEC 2010
• Corporations and unions
can spend unlimited
amounts from their
treasuries on vote
for/vote against
independent ads.
• Cannot coord with
candidates nor donate
directly. Must disclose.
• Before: Only through
PACS
• Opened era of Super Pacs
and explosion of “Dark
Money.”
• More big money
influence

5. Citizens United
• President Obama called the Citizens United
decision: “a major victory for big oil, Wall
Street banks, health insurance companies and
the other powerful interests that marshal
their power every day in Washington to drown
out the voices of everyday Americans

6. Hard Money is the Best
• Under federal law, an individual in the 2016 election
cycle may contribute:
– $2,700 to a candidate per election (primary and general
are considered two different elections)
– $33,400 to a national political party committee per year
– $5,000 to a PAC per year
•
A PAC may contribute:
– $5,000 to a candidate per election (primary and general)
– $15,000 to a political party per year
– $5,000 to another PAC per year

7. Bigger and Darker Money
• 501 C’s NON PROFITS
• tax exempt
• IRS code
• varying political
involvement
• 527’s tax exempt
under IRS rules
• SUPER Pacs

8. Campaign Money with No Fingerprints
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVe7galMGu
c
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/us/politics
/poll-shows-americans-favor-overhaul-of-
campaign-
financing.html?hpw&rref=politics&action=click&
pgtype=Homepage&module=well-
region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-
well

9. Levels of Giving
• http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/0
9/21/us/politics/21money-graphic.html

10. Other terms
• Bundlers
• PACS and Leadership
PACS
• Party Committees
• Public Matching
Funds

11. 2012: The Most Expensive in History
• $6.3
billion
• ($300 million from
outside groups)

12. The Big Givers

13. 2012 Presidential: $1 Billion candidate
spending
• https://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/#out
• Candidate $540.8 $336.2
• Party $292.2 $386.2
• Outside $131.3 $418.6
• Total $964.3 $1.141 billion
million

14. 2016: Outside money (top)
Candidate money (bottom)
Jeb Bush (R)
$103,222,384
$24,814,730
Hillary Clinton (D)
$20,291,679
$77,471,604
Ted Cruz (R)
$38,655,257
$26,567,298
Bernie Sanders (D)
$25,044
$41,463,784
Ben Carson (R)
$7,295,668
$31,409,509
Marco Rubio (R)
$17,315,782
$15,515,638

15. And what about Donald Trump?
Donald Trump (R)
$0
$5,828,922
Outside groups
Candidate

16. Outside spending so far – incomplete
disclosure
Not coordinated with candidate -- issue ads – not
full disclosure
Type of Group Total Spent
# of Groups
Registered
# of Groups
Spending to date
Super PACs $95,079,020 1,702 65
Social Welfare 501(c)(4) $1,991,529 N/A 6
Trade Assns 501(c)(6) $2,965,477 N/A 1
Unions 501(c)(5) $0 N/A 0
Parties $570,166 72 4
Other (corporations, individual people, other groups,
etc)
$2,822,556 185 38
Grand Total: $103,428,748 2,026 114

17. Super Pacs 2016: Spent and Raised
Right To Rise
USA
supports Bush $52,247,651 Conservative $103,167,845
America Leads
supports
Christie
$10,734,898 Conservative $11,003,304
Conservative
Solutions PAC
supports Rubio $8,685,534 Conservative $16,057,755
New Day For
America
supports Kasich $4,371,997 Conservative $0
Club for
Growth Action
$3,759,266 Conservative $2,844,708
Security is
Strength
supports
Graham
$3,504,375 Conservative $2,897,435
Believe Again supports Jindal $2,634,873 Conservative $3,685,918
New Day
Independent
Media Cmte
supports Kasich $2,489,336 Conservative $0

18. Families funding the race
• The 158 families each contributed $250,00 or
more in the campaign through June 30,
according to the most recent available FEC
filings and other date, while an additional 200
families gave more than $100,000.
• Together the two groups contributed well over
half the money in the presidential election –
the vast majority of it supporting Republicans.

19. Families Mostly Backing Republicans
• Republicans: 138 Democrats: 20

20. What to look for: Giving and Spending
• GIVING
• Patterns: regions,
industries, issue groups
• Outliers, and oddities
• Big v Small donors
• Bundlers
• Fed/State/Local races
• New techniques and
colorful events (lavish
excess)
• Periodic reports
• SPENDING
• Air war v. ground war
• Who’s getting rich
(consultants, ad buyers,
pollsters)
• In what states
• Big Data
• Conventions,
Inaugurations
• Burn Rate

21. SOURCES
• http://www.fec.gov/index.shtml
• https://www.opensecrets.org/
• http://sunlightfoundation.com/
• http://www.followthemoney.org/

22. handouts
• http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/0
9/21/us/politics/21money-graphic.html
• Also john edwards story and political
consultants stories in gmail.

23. Super Givers So Far
Organization Total View*
Independent
Expenditures
Elec
Comm
Comm
Costs
Super
PAC
527s† 501c
Right To Rise USA $44,541,053 C $44,541,053 $0 $0 x
America Leads $10,716,610 C $10,716,610 $0 $0 x
Conservative Solutions PAC $5,391,895 C $5,391,895 $0 $0 x
New Day For America $3,972,097 C $3,972,097 $0 $0 x
Club for Growth $3,834,726 C $3,834,726 $0 $0 x
VIEW ALL GROUPS