Wired: “Unlike traditional fundraising models like super PACs that pool funds from publicly reported donors, these creator collectives pool audiences and leverage social networks and off-the-shelf tools like Shopify and Tiltify to convert followers into donors.”

The New York Times found that “300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion — 19 percent of all contributions — in federal elections in 2024, either directly or through political action committees.”

“Five presidential elections ago, before the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that lifted many remaining campaign finance restrictions, the share of billionaire spending was almost zero — 0.3 percent, to be precise.”

Despite campaign finance laws preventing coordination between campaigns and super PACS, the New York Times found anonymous X accounts with links to Rep. Wesley Hunt’s (R-TX) U.S. Senate campaign sharing strategic information, private polling and messaging advice with outside allies for months.

Texas Tribune: “If Texans want to know who’s funding the deluge of ads in the final stretch of the U.S. Senate primaries, they’ll need to keep guessing.”

“The race is awash with dark money, or contributions from political nonprofits that are not legally obligated to disclose donors, according to campaign finance reports that were due Thursday.”

“A super PAC supporting one of the Democratic candidates, James Talarico, reported $6.1 million in contributions from Jan. 1 through Feb. 11. But more than half that came from a political action committee that was entirely funded by a dark money group on its last monthly report.”

“And as Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston tries to squeeze into a primary runoff on the Republican side, a group supporting him — and another opposing him — are also being mostly funded by anonymous sources, according to the filings with the Federal Election Commission.”

“Taken together, the reports show that big-money interests are heavily invested in the Texas primaries — but unwilling to reveal their identities at a critical juncture of the race.”

Paul Krugman: “For those who need a refresher, Citizens United was a 2010 ruling by a narrow majority on the Supreme Court that effectively removed all restrictions on political spending by wealthy individuals and corporations. Such spending must be undertaken by nominally independent organizations, but in practice so-called Super PACs coordinate closely with candidates and parties. The result of the ruling, which you can see in the chart, was an explosion of political spending by billionaires as well as industry lobbying groups. Citizens United is what enabled both Elon Musk and the crypto industry to play huge roles in the 2024 election.”

“Some of the rise in billionaire spending can be explained by growth in the number of billionaires — but not much. The number of U.S. billionaires rose 85 percent between 2010 and 2023, from 404 to 748. But billionaires’ share of political contributions rose by 1700 percent.”

“In short, we are in the midst of an unprecedented power grab by America’s oligarchs. This power grab is arguably the most important fact about contemporary U.S. politics. In many ways MAGA is just a symptom.”

A new Ipsos survey shows Americans overwhelmingly reject the idea that unlimited political spending should be treated as free speech protected by the First Amendment.

Key takeaways: 81% of Americans are concerned about the influence of money in politics, including 78% of Republicans, 90% of Democrats, and 82% of Independents. And 77% say it poses a threat to elections.

Also important: 72% agree Congress and the states should be able to reasonably regulate and limit money in campaigns and elections, including super-majorities of Republicans (69%), Democrats (83%), and Independents (78%).

“It’s the biggest mystery in Georgia politics right now: Who’s paying for the attacks on Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones?,” the AP reports.

“Someone operating under the name ‘Georgians for Integrity’ has dumped around $5 million into television ads, mailers and texts. The attacks claim Jones, who already has… Trump’s endorsement in his run for governor next year, has been using his office to enrich himself. For any Georgian settling down to watch a football game, the ads have been nearly inescapable.”

“The Jones campaign is hopping mad, threatening legal action against television stations.”

The Washington Post ranks the billionaire political donors.

“The 20 most prolific donors on the Forbes billionaires list have collectively given nearly $5 billion between 2015 and 2024, spending on everything from state ballot measures to congressional elections and presidential races.”

Washington Post: “In an era defined by major political divisions and massive wealth accumulation for the richest Americans, billionaires are spending unprecedented amounts on U.S. politics.”

“Dozens have stepped up their political giving in recent years, leading to a record-breaking surge of donations by the ultrarich in 2024. Since 2000, political giving by the wealthiest 100 Americans to federal elections has gone up almost 140 times, well outpacing the growing costs of campaigns.”

“When presidential contenders or congressional hopefuls flame out and abandon their campaigns, they often prepare to fight another day or simply fade away,” NOTUS reports.

“But a few of these old campaigns experience a different fate, morphing into deadbeat zombie operations — technically still alive and functioning, but unable to pay their numerous bills to various creditors.”

“New filings with the Federal Election Commission show just how much some politicos owe for old campaigns, including those of a current Trump administration official and an an MSNBC television host.”

“Two Republican super PACs paid nearly $1 million this month to quietly settle an inquiry into whether they illicitly coordinated with the campaign of Lee Zeldin, a member of President Trump’s cabinet, during his 2022 run for governor of New York,” the New York Times reports.

“Texas Democrat James Talarico has built a national profile railing against GOP billionaires in politics — but has quietly accepted funds from a PAC backed by one of the wealthiest donors in the Republican Party,” Politico reports.

“The single biggest donor to Talarico’s state House reelection bid last year was a group funded by casino mogul Miriam Adelson, according to state campaign finance data.”