“Herschel Walker is still sitting on a pile of campaign cash, leading many political observers to wonder how he plans to spend that dough,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
“The failed Republican U.S. Senate candidate filed financial disclosures this week that show his campaign account holds nearly $4.4 million.”
Washington Examiner: “A little-known organization fighting for ‘the interests of progressive voters through public advocacy’ is quietly overseeing an unusual ‘fellowship’ to ensure repeat Democratic congressional hopefuls get paychecks between runs.”
“Tax experts have questioned whether New Politics Leadership Academy may have violated its charity status by compensating congressional hopefuls, with the Federal Election Commission receiving at least one formal complaint against a candidate in 2020 over the individual being ‘paid to run for Congress by Democratic groups.”
“A shadowy super PAC behind millions of dollars worth of television ads in Montana is showing voters how rules and regulations set by the Federal Election Commission can sometimes fall short of their intended purpose,” The Messenger reports.
“Typically, when a super PAC launches ads worth over $10,000, groups have to disclose which candidate they are supporting or opposing, how much money the expenditure costs, when the ads were disseminated, and the firm who executed the ad within 48 hours of making the communication.”
“Despite airing millions of dollars worth of attack ads, Last Best Place PAC hasn’t issued a single 48-hour notice of independent expenditures. It’s unclear who exactly is behind the ads.”
“For years, dark money groups have enjoyed certain advantages that offer donors anonymity — putting the proverbial ‘dark’ in ‘dark money,'” the Daily Beast reports.
“But late last month, one small outside group quietly told election law regulators to shove off when watchdogs demanded to see the group’s donors, a move that legal experts say could signal a profound shift in campaign finance disclosure laws, making dark money even darker just in time for the 2024 election.”
“Three allied political action committees funded by leaders of the cryptocurrency industry will be starting 2024 with a combined $78 million as they aim to be key influencers during the pivotal election cycle,” CNBC reports.
“The massive amount of cash that the PACs are prepared to use in support of likely pro-crypto candidates running for seats in both the House and Senate shows how the cryptocurrency industry is still trying to influence elections despite some recent headwinds.”
Associated Press: “Multiple people familiar with DeSantis’ political network said that he and his wife had expressed concerns about the messaging of Never Back Down, the largest super PAC supporting the governor’s campaign, in recent months as his Iowa polling numbers stagnated in late summer and autumn…”
“DeSantis’ team shared those messaging concerns with members of Never Back Down’s board, which includes Florida-based members with close ties to the governor… Some of the board members then relayed the DeSantis team’s wishes to super PAC staff, which was responsible for executing strategy.”
“Federal laws prohibit coordination between presidential campaigns and outside groups.”
Los Angeles Times: “As he exits Congress two months after his historic ouster as speaker, political obituaries tout McCarthy’s skills as a prolific fundraiser on behalf of Republican candidates. Also setting him apart from other congressional leaders was his roughly decade-long pattern of using his Majority Committee PAC to spend lavishly on hotels, private jets and fine dining establishments.”
“From 2012 through last June, McCarthy’s PAC shelled out more than $1 million on hotels, private air travel and eateries… That’s more than double the combined total spent by the leadership PACs of the seven other lawmakers who’ve held the top House and Senate positions for their parties during all or part of that period.”
“Leadership PACs are subject to fewer spending controls than other campaign accounts. In fact, the FEC determined earlier this year that those committees are free to use their money on personal expenses, without limits.”
“The Republican presidential primary isn’t over, but the super PACs with the biggest ambitions may have already lost it,” Semafor reports.
“It wasn’t surprising that some candidates jumped at the chance to effectively outsource their campaign to a handful of big donors, once that became a clear possibility, rather than relying on fickle small donors and exhausting grip-and-grins with bundlers and their friends. In doing so, though, they surrender crucial control and lose the flexibility to course-correct that they have on their actual campaign.”
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign accused Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) of misusing the former president’s image and tricking donors in an online fundraising scheme, The Messenger reports.
Daily Beast: “They uncovered what appears to be an illegal pass-through scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit contributions that Santos funneled to his campaign from business clients—perhaps without their knowledge.”
“Santos also appears to have taken the scheme a step further, personally reaping tens of thousands of dollars after he was elected to Congress.”
“The political group No Labels says it does not take corporate money, but disclosures from several companies indicate it has received corporate donations, including some received as recently as last year,” Sludge reports.
“The full scope of corporate money that has been given to No Labels is unknown, since the 501(c)4 nonprofit advocacy group does not release information about its donors and is not required by law to do so. But glimpses of corporate donors to No Labels can be seen in companies’ voluntary political disclosures.”
The 55-page ethics report looking into allegations against Rep. George Santos (R-NY) shows that he spent campaign funds “on Botox treatments and lavish Atlantic City trips with his husband,” Politico reports.
But there are other more egregious charges:
“The New Georgia Project, a voting rights organization founded by the state’s Democratic star Stacey Abrams and overseen for more than two years by Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, is beset by allegations of financial misuse and irregularities,” Politico reports.
“The organization, which played a key role in registering the new voters necessary to turn Georgia from a red state to a swing state with two Democratic senators, is conducting its own internal probe into its finances in response to the claims of irregularities, one of its two board chairs, Frank Wilson, said.”
“Former crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates donated $50 million during the 2022 election cycle toward politically active nonprofit groups that don’t disclose their donors,” CNBC reports.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has long been the Left’s foremost critic of “dark money,” which he’s said “corrupts” politics and poses a “threat to democracy,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“But a Washington Examiner review of the senator’s donors, green energy affiliations, and efforts to transform the Supreme Court tell another story. He has for many years benefited from the influence of dark money and held certain ties to dark money groups.”
Tim Miller: “Super PACs for several GOP candidates challenging Donald Trump have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund efforts to displace him as the party’s nominee—and they have absolutely nothing to show for it.”
“No progress. No signs of life. No movement. Nada.”
“The impotence of the super PAC efforts is an all-the-more-inviting target for ridicule when you consider that this entire strategic approach was discredited in the 2016 and 2020 presidential races.”
“Republicans have waged a decades-long battle to blow up the campaign-finance laws that rein in big-money spending. Now, they are making a play that could end in their biggest victory since the Citizens United ruling in 2010,” Politico reports.
“The GOP is growing increasingly optimistic about their prospects in a little-noticed lawsuit that would allow official party committees and candidates to coordinate freely by removing current spending restrictions. If successful, it would represent a seismic shift in how tens of millions of campaign dollars are spent and upend a well-established political ecosystem for TV advertising.”
Hundreds of college students “were paid $20 a pop for every family member, friend or acquaintance they could persuade to donate $1 to Hutchinson this summer,” Politico reports.
“The texting-for-pay plan was one of several efforts by Republican contenders to beef up their number of unique donors by paying for them.”
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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