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A NOTE FROM FRED
With control of the Senate up for grabs, record amounts of outside money is being spent. For example, in Ohio, outside groups have spent $47 million in the Senate race, $34 million more than the major party candidates, according to Open Secrets. In Pennsylvania, the outside groups have spent $57 million, $38 million more than the candidates. The voices of candidates are being overwhelmed by messages from outside groups funded by the Super Rich. In the small state of New Hampshire, outside groups have spent $43 million or more than $47 for each registered voter in the state. All of this money flooding our elections and corrupting our democracy is a result of the Roberts Supreme Court majority rewriting the nation’s campaign finance laws. Whether this damage can be undone by a new court majority will be determined when voters go to the polls on November 8th.
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A top GOP donor offers fellow big donors a way to help Trump anonymously, says POLITICO. Todd Ricketts, owner of the Chicago Cubs, is raising money for a tax-exempt non-profit group that is supporting Trump. "There is a substantial appetite for a non-disclosing vehicle, because it's embarrassing to support Trump. There are more donors who are willing to support Donald anonymously than with their names on it," said a GOP fundraiser. Read more
Secret money is flooding judicial elections. 70% of TV ad spending in state supreme court races so far this year has come from dark-money outside groups that do not disclose their donors, says the American Prospect. "The danger is that judges and judicial candidates...will feel debts of gratitude to their financial supporters or hesitate to issue rulings that may make them targets in future elections." Read more
Senate Republicans revive gambling legislation after huge Adelson donation, says the Washington Post. In August, Adelson and his wife gave $20 million to the Senate Majority PAC with ties to McConnell. On September 21, Republican Senators introduced a bill to ban Internet gambling, an issue that casino owner Adelson strongly supports. Read more
Clinton and Trump get most of their campaign funds from 250 neighborhoods, says Wired Magazine. The 10 zip codes that have donated the most to Clinton are all on the east coast. In August, Clinton took in $364,000 from four West Side of Manhattan neighborhoods. Trump's leading neighborhood is on the East Side of Manhattan where his Trump Tower hotel is located. Read more
Charlie Palmer Steak's was the place to be this week. As Congress debated funding the government, three members of Congress held separate fundraising events at the same time in the restaurant. Tickets where sold for upwards of $2,500, said Roll Call. Lawmakers are rushing to schedule fundraising events before the September 30 deadline for filing FEC reports. Read more
Trump might "self-fund an ad blitz" says POLITICO. The campaign said last week that it was planning to launch $140 million in ads, but the campaign currently doesn't have the money to pay for that. As of the end of August, the campaign only has $50 million in the bank. Trump is apparently open to begin self-funding his campaign again, like he did during the primary. Read more
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2016 FACT OF THE DAY
The Democratic host committee for this summer's convention raised almost three-fourths of its donations from only 17 donors, according to Open Secrets. Read more
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NC: A grand jury charged state Senator Fletcher Hartsell with misusing campaign money. Hartsell, the longest serving current member of the NC Senate, allegedly solicited campaign donations that he used to pay for things like a vacation and a birthday party. Read more
IN: The DSCC now plans to spend at least $5 million in Indiana, $2.5 million more than they originally planned. Candidate Evan Bayh's lead in the polls has narrowed recently. Read more
FL: Marco Rubio held a private fundraiser this week at the Tennessee governor's mansion. The event was co-hosted by Senators Corker and Alexander. Read more
By: Fred Wertheimer (@FredWertheimer) & Kathryn Beard (@KathrynBeard)
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