Campaign finance rules for ballot measures differ from those for candidate elections. “Referenda are held on issues, not candidates for public office,” wrote the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 (First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti). The court has held that spending on ballot measure campaigns is similar to issue advocacy in the lawmaking process.…
As of April 30, 2024, the end of the most recent party committee campaign finance filing period, the three committees associated with the Democratic Party have raised a cumulative $519 million and spent $392 million for the 2024 election cycle, while the three committees associated with the Republican Party have raised $430 million and spent…
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) released an opinion on May 1 determining that federal officeholders and candidates are allowed to solicit funds for ballot measure committees without regard to the amount limitations and source restrictions in the Federal Election Campaign Act. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, sponsors of an initiative that would create a state constitutional…
Former President Donald Trump (R) leads the field of Republican presidential primary candidates in fundraising with $88.5 million in cumulative receipts. He is followed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R) with $47.6 million, and businessman Ryan Binkley with $11.1 million. Trump also leads in spending with $57.9 million in disbursements, followed by Haley with…
Incumbent President Joe Biden (D) leads the Democratic primary field in fundraising with $20 million in receipts. He is followed by environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D) with $6 million and author Marianne Williamson (D) with $2 million. Kennedy currently leads in campaign spending with $1.8 million in disbursements, followed by Williamson with $1.6…
As of Feb. 28, 2023, the end of the most recent campaign finance reporting period, three committees associated with the Democratic Party have $60 million in cash on hand, while three committees associated with the Republican Party have $39 million in cash on hand. The three Democratic committees are the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the…
Six party committees raised a combined $1 billion in the first fifteen months of the 2022 election cycle. In March, the committees raised $99 million, according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission. Here’s a closer look at March’s fundraising numbers: In March, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) reported its highest monthly fundraising…
The most recent campaign finance reports for federal candidates were due Jan. 31. Georgia’s Raphael Warnock (D) has raised the most of all U.S. Senate candidates this cycle at $54 million. Warnock defeated incumbent Kelly Loeffler (R) in the special Senate election on Jan. 5, 2021. The list of 10 Senate candidates who’ve raised the…
Elections for all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates took place on November 2, 2021. Democrats lost their majority in the chamber. Republicans regained their majority, winning 52 seats to Democrats’ 48 seats. Seven seats changed party hands as a result of the elections this year. In those seats, Democrats raised $12.3 million…
New campaign finance filings for Virginia state legislative races showed that Democrats led Republicans in fundraising through the election cycle. Between January 1, 2020, and November 25, 2021, Democratic candidates outraised Republican candidates by 125 percent. Heading into the general elections, 103 Democratic candidates raised $56.39 million compared to $25.11 million raised by 103 Republicans.…