Independent Groups
Washington Post: The inside story of Trump campaign’s connections to a big-money super PAC
Matea Gold, Tom Hamburger and Jenna Johnson
What Trump doesn’t say is that he and his top campaign aide have connections to a super PAC collecting large checks to support his candidacy — a group viewed by people familiar with his campaign as the sanctioned outlet for wealthy donors.
This summer, Trump appeared at at least two events for the Make America Great Again PAC, which took his campaign slogan as its name and received financing from his daughter’s mother-in-law. A consultant for the super PAC is a Republican operative who has previously worked with Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, according to several people with direct knowledge of their ties.
The Trump campaign’s links to the low-profile group could undercut the candidate’s posture as the only Republican in the race who has not sought to curry favor with wealthy donors, a central part of his anti-establishment message.
NPR: If Jeb Bush’s Campaign Is Cutting Spending, His SuperPAC May Prove Its Worth
Peter Overby
Bush’s campaign says it raised $13.4 million in the third quarter. Campaign manager Danny Diaz noted the number is double the quarterly totals of Bush protege Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who both lead Bush in polls.
But his total for July, August and September is up barely $2 million over the second quarter, when he spent just 16 days as an announced candidate collecting cash in late June. Bush’s total falls far short of the nearly $21 million reported by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s campaign. Sen. Ted Cruz fell just short of matching Bush last quarter…
The tough summer of fundraising may lead to a leaner campaign operation, as Politico reported Thursday. One option: spinning off some of the campaign’s tasks to his superPAC, Right To Rise USA. Jeb 2016, as a campaign committee, can’t take contributions greater than $2,700 per person. SuperPACs like Right To Rise USA have no contribution limits.
USA Today: Former Democratic senators plan to form a group supporting moderates
Deborah Barfield Barry
Former Louisiana senator Mary Landrieu said losing centrists from both parties has stalled the legislative process in Congress…
Landrieu recently formed her own political action committee, “Hold the Center,’’ to raise money to support moderate candidates. But she and former senator Mark Begich, D-Alaska, have also met with former Democratic Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas to talk about combining resources for an organization with the same mission.
FCC
CNN: Larry Lessig wants equal air time to Hillary Clinton’s ‘SNL’ appearance
Brian Stelter and Shanta Covington
Lessig, a longshot Democratic candidate for president, submitted the air time request last weekend and is now in consultation with NBC about it.
“We’re not trying to get Larry onto ‘Saturday Night Live,’ of course — we just want to protect his equal right to speak to viewers,” Lessig campaign counsel Adam Bonin said in a statement to CNNMoney.
Federal Communications Commission rules stipulate that candidates can request equal time when broadcast stations have a rival on the air.
“Since 1927, the law has said that when a network gives one candidate free airtime, outside of its news coverage, it has to allow a comparable opportunity to other candidates,” Bonin said. “These are the public’s airwaves, after all.”
FEC
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Murray Energy to pay $5,000 penalty for anti-Obama sign disclosure violations
Sabrina Eaton
According to the election commission, between July and October of 2012, Murray Energy paid roughly $22,000 for 4,708 yard signs and banners that said “STOP the WAR on COAL – FIRE OBAMA.”
A Democrat-leaning group – Progress Ohio – complained the signs violated campaign laws because they expressly advocated Obama’s defeat without including the required disclaimers. Murray Energy said it didn’t know disclaimers were needed and said it stopped distributing the signs when it learned of the requirement…
They also said the phrase “Fire Obama” could reasonably be seen as a plea to impeach the President, or “as a humorous allusion to the Donald Trump phrase that applies to anyone who has failed in his job: ‘You’re fired.'”
But FEC attorneys said the disclosure was required, and Murray Energy should also have reported the sign purchases as independent expenditures against Obama.
Daily Beast: Did Ben Carson Already Break Campaign Law?
Gideon Resnick and Betsy Woodruff
On Oct. 9, Ben Carson appeared at the National Press Club to promote his new book. His campaign manager, Barry Bennett, told The Daily Beast that Carson’s publishing company set up the event and paid for his transportation to D.C. to speak there.
And just like that, Carson may have violated campaign finance law…
Campaign law bars corporations from donating to presidential candidates—whether those donations are checks or in-kind contributions of goods or services. “Campaigns may not accept contributions made from the general treasury funds of corporations, labor organizations or national banks,” reads the FEC’s guide for candidates.
That’s why it gets dicey (though not unheard of) when presidential candidates go on book tours; if the hotel stays, restaurant meals, and publicity associated with a book tour are paid for by the publishing company, candidates can get in trouble if they hold campaign events while traveling on that company’s dime.
Contractor Disclosure
The Hill: Obama’s legacy on campaign finance can be more than just rhetoric
Lisa Gilbert
And later in the year, on the fifth anniversary of the overreaching Citizens United decision, he again spoke out, saying: “With each new campaign season, this dark money floods our airwaves with more and more political ads that pull our politics into the gutter. It’s time to reverse this trend.”
The rhetoric is clear and unwavering. But when we turn to ponder the question of legacy, what can we point to that the administration has done to curb money in politics? The answer is: nothing yet. The “yet” is the pivotal part of that sentence, as the president has within his grasp the ability to do something meaningful on this issue. And he can do it without Congress.
Obama’s next executive order should require government contractors to disclose their political donations.
Candidates and Campaigns
Time: See Which Republicans Are Winning the Presidential Money Race in 3 Charts
Zeke J. Miller
Campaign finance filings released Thursday provided the sharpest look yet into the inner-workings of the 2016 Republican presidential field, which combined raised $77.4 million in the third quarter of 2015. Outsider candidates have found more luck with GOP donors, as more familiar candidates have struggled to keep up.
The two keys to campaign finance reports: cash-on-hand and burn-rate. Ben Carson, who led the money race, spent about half of what he raised in the period just on raising more money, but he still has a formidable bank account. Ted Cruz is leading the cash-on-hand race, following by Carson, Rubio, and Bush.
Wall Street Journal: Bernie Sanders Easily Outdraws Hillary Clinton Among Small Donors
Rebecca Ballhaus and Byron Tau
Sen. Bernie Sanders raised nearly four times more from small donations in the third quarter than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did.
Mr. Sanders—the self-described Democratic socialist from Vermont now pursuing the Democratic nomination for president—raised more than $20 million from donations of $200 or less, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday. The donations accounted for 77% of his haul.
Mrs. Clinton, by contrast, raised the bulk of her campaign cash from larger donations. She raised just $5.2 million from donations of $200 or less, 17% of her total fundraising for the quarter.
The Hill: Lessig backtracks on vow to quit presidency after campaign finance reform
Meghashyam Mali
Longshot Democratic 2016 contender Lawrence Lessig says he will serve a full term of president if elected, backtracking from his earlier vow to resign as soon as he accomplished campaign finance reform.
“Yeah, that was stupid… totally stupid,” Lessig said on Friday night when asked about that pledge on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Lessig, a prominent campaign finance advocate and Harvard Law professor, suggested people were not taking his campaign seriously because of that pledge.
The States
Madison Cap Times: Don’t tolerate campaign donor shield
Editorial Board
Now, the Assembly speaker, widely known for his pomposity, has engineered another amendment to keep more government secrets. He wants the already-onerous bill to rewrite the state’s campaign finance laws to also include a provision to end the requirement that donors to political candidates or committees reveal their employers…
Good government organizations have been able to use the employer information to track down interest groups that attempt to influence legislators and legislation. If a host of employees from the paper industry, for instance, are contributing to a particular candidate, the public is able to better judge that candidate’s position on issues — good or bad.
Portland Press Herald: Question 1 arguments: Cleaner elections or ‘welfare’ for politicians?
Kevin Miller
Rep. Larry Lockman, R-Amherst, called Question 1 “the biggest example of welfare for politicians in Maine history” and said it could significantly increase the amount of taxpayer dollars spent on campaigns. Instead, Lockman said, the state needs to put more money toward helping nursing homes, reducing the MaineCare waiting list for the elderly or disabled, or taking care of other vulnerable people.
“It borders on scandalous that anybody would propose taking scarce money out of the General Fund to spend on robocalls, negative ads and lawn signs,” said Lockman, who ran his first campaign in 2012 as a Clean Election candidate but now says he regrets the decision. “Every dollar from the General Fund that goes to fund political campaigns is one less dollar for all of these urgent needs,” he said.
