Don Moynihan: “Money is a an aggressive growing tumor at the heart of American democracy. The 2023 Wisconsin state supreme court race cost $56 million, a national record at the time. The 2025 version blasted that out of the water, and could end up costing almost twice that much.”
“To give a sense of out-of-kilter we are, a single state court race saw significantly more spending than the entire United Kingdom national election.”
“When White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s failed congressional campaign amended its filings last week — revealing that she appears to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in excessive donations that she never paid back — the campaign also revealed that it broke another fundamental rule of political fundraising: don’t take money from businesses straight to the bank, NOTUS reports.
“Before spending donations from businesses, campaigns are supposed to do due diligence to make sure the contribution is allowable. But according to years of reprimanding letters from the Federal Election Commission, Leavitt’s campaign frequently failed to follow these basic legal guidelines. And now, as Leavitt takes the briefing room podium, her unsuccessful campaign from 2022 still owes businesses tens of thousands of dollars.”
“A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat, admitted on Wednesday that it had violated state law by concealing the fact that it had campaigned for her during her 2018 run for governor,” the New York Times reports.
“At the time of that campaign, the group was led by Raphael Warnock, who was later elected to the Senate as a Democrat from Georgia.”
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“At least four Democratic political committees suspect their former campaign treasurer is behind the “misappropriation” of hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds,” Rolling Stone reports.
“The committees — including those led by Virginia’s two U.S. senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner — have alerted law enforcement officials and federal regulators and continue to internally investigate the matter.”
“The alleged misappropriations of funds are the latest in a string of high-profile thefts and unauthorized financial transactions that have recently walloped federal political committees of all partisan stripes, collectively costing them millions of dollars.”
“Election officials on Monday denied a request from New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 2025 campaign for millions in public matching dollars,” Politico reports.
“The decision — based on bookkeeping irregularities and a federal criminal case against the mayor involving straw donors — deals a body blow to the beleaguered mayor’s reelection effort, which he must now redouble to make up for the withheld cash.”
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump “have together spent $3.5 billion in their race for the White House, making the 2024 presidential campaign the most expensive U.S. general election in history,” the Financial Times reports.
“A Philadelphia judge is allowing Elon Musk’s America PAC to continue its million-dollar giveaway to registered swing state voters,” ABC News reports.
A federal judge has rejected Elon Musk’s bid to move the Philadelphia lawsuit over his voter lottery scheme to federal court.
“Elon Musk and his political action committee are seeking to move the Philadelphia District Attorney’s lawsuit targeting their $1 million swing state voter lottery to federal court,” CNBC reports.
“Big-money operatives are taking advantage of lax rules at the end of the campaign to hide the true source of their money until after the election is called — or for forever,” the New York Times reports.
“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a political action committee controlled by billionaire Elon Musk from awarding $1 million to registered voters in swing states,” CNBC reports.
Wall Street Journal: “What many Americans may not realize is that U.S. elections are an outlier, especially compared to other industrialized democracies. Canada’s campaign typically lasts between 36 and 50 days. The total campaign bill for its 2021 election: $69 million in today’s dollars—about 1/27th the price tag per voter south of the border. U.S. elections cost about 40 times more per person than the U.K. or Germany.”
“The Justice Department’s head of election crimes sent a warning letter to Elon Musk’s America PAC Monday, alerting it that it was a crime to knowingly offer anything of value to register to vote or vote,” 24sight News reports.
“The warning letter did not specify any immediate legal action, but it did spell out the penalties for breaking U.S. voting laws, including possible imprisonment of up to five years.”
CNN: Justice Department warns Elon Musk that his $1 million giveaway to registered voters may be illegal.
Washington Post: “Save America, the leadership PAC that Trump has used to pay his legal bills and those of some of his associates, raised $1.4 million in September and spent $4 million, most of it on lawyers, demonstrating how the former president’s legal problems have continued to strain campaign resources.”
“The group had less than $2 million left in cash and owes nearly $5 million in legal debt.”
“Democrats are starting to use a campaign finance loophole to save big bucks on TV advertising — after failing to stop Republicans from doing the same,” Politico reports.
“Earlier this month, the Federal Election Commission deadlocked on a case brought forth by Democrats asking whether joint fundraising committees can run ads for candidates, as some Senate Republicans have been doing for months.”
“Senate Democrats are accusing Senate Republicans of illegally financing their campaign ads,” Axios reports.
“Democrats have been crushing the GOP in fundraising, forcing Republicans to get creative with campaign finance laws.”
“The FEC will decide this week if one GOP strategy can keep going, with a vote expected Thursday.”
“People who closely follow the commission tell Axios the expectation is for the vote to split along party lines — a 3-3 decision, clearing the way for the GOP to continue.”
“This year’s spending to elect a president and members of Congress will hit at least $15.9 billion – putting 2024 on track to become the nation’s most expensive federal election,” CNN reports.
“Helping to drive up the price tag: blistering spending by outside groups, including deep-pocketed super PACs aiding Republicans. Outside spending – largely through independent expenditures such as advertising, mailings, canvassing and other activities to boost specific candidates – has reached roughly $2.6 billion. That’s nearly $1 billion more than groups like these spent at this point in the 2020 election.”
“Donald Trump’s campaign spent more than it raised for the second month in a row as the Republican nominee struggles to keep pace with Democrat Kamala Harris’ robust fundraising operation,” Bloomberg reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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