Open Secrets
Shhhh...This'll Be Our OpenSecrets
Welcome! Don't tell anyone yet, but you're getting a sneak preview of the new OpenSecrets.org. We're not scheduled to officially launch until Wednesday, May 14, but we thought it was a good idea to flip the switch a little early and test some things out.
Massie Ritsch
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
After Brief Retaliation, Home Builders Turn the Tap Back On
Economic hardship didn't cause the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to withhold federal contributions for the last 10 weeks, and it won't prevent the group from following up on its decision late last week to start giving again.
Lindsay Renick Mayer
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Obama Wins North Carolina AND Indiana...in Contributions
If money had predicted the winners of last night's Democratic primary contests, Barack Obama would have emerged victorious in both North Carolina and Indiana. In the Tar Heel State, Obama raised $1.7 million compared to Hillary Clinton's $1.1 million. Much like the results at the polls, the financial results were closer in the Hoosier State.
Lindsay Renick Mayer
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
And the Webby goes to...
The 2008 Webby for Politics has gone to FactCheck.org, which frequently uses Center for Responsive Politics data to check the accuracy of candidates' statements and advertisements. FactCheck, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, beat out the likes of NPR, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Truthdig. Also among the finalists was MAPLight.org, which mashes up CRP data with congressional voting records to correlate money and votes on legislation.
Lindsay Renick Mayer
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
New Lobbying Forms Require More Disclosure
Getting a more complete picture of lobbying expenditures will be a little easier, thanks to a modification to the now quarterly disclosure reports that lobbying firms and clients must file. Previously, firms earning, and clients spending less, than $10,000 needed only to check a box indicating they'd earned or spent less than that amount.
Lindsay Renick Mayer
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
What Not to Do If You're Running for Office
Congressional candidates come up with all kinds of creative ways to draw attention to their campaigns. Some of these techniques land political hopefuls in office and some...land them in jail.
Lindsay Renick Mayer
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
The Millionaire on the Ballot
The U.S. Supreme Court had its hands full with money this week—more specifically, with campaign finance dollars. The justices considered Tuesday whether it's constitutional to "level the playing field" in congressional elections by increasing the dollar limit on individual contributions for candidates who face wealthy, self-funded opponents.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Clinton's Debt is Larger (Technically) Than What's Reported
The news media and commentators have recently pointed out that Hillary Clinton's campaign was $10 million in debt after March, but then they sometimes include a disclaimer that the figure includes her $5 million loan to her campaign. It doesn't. In fact, the Clinton campaign's total debt as of March 31 was $15,321,562.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Small Donors Play Big Role
A contribution of $2,300 to a presidential candidate can go a long way, but the contributions of $200 and less are going even further for the Democrats in the presidential race, according to a study by the Campaign Finance Institute this week. March marked the second month in a row where more than half of the contributions going to Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama came from donors giving $200 or less.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Updated Presidential Data Includes New Industry Totals
We've been processing the presidential candidates' March fundraising reports since they filed them Sunday, so take a spin through the presidential election section to see what's new. The Donor Lookup now includes individuals who gave in March, and totals by state and metro area have been updated. (The Democrats' next battleground, Indiana, hasn't produced much money, but Barack Obama has a small edge in fundraising there, and his lead is larger in North Carolina.)
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Update on 1st Quarter Congressional Data
In the contests for Congress, 1st Quarter fundraising totals for some congressional candidates -- many of them incumbent senators -- still haven't come out electronically from the FEC. (Senators insist on filing their reports on paper even though everyone else files electronically, so this usually explains the delay in getting electronic information -- it has to be keyed in at your expense, taxpayer.)
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Military Analysts and the Revolving Door
The New York Times generated a lot of buzz this week with a story about military analysts who work for military contractors when they're not opining on television. The analysts, who have unprecedented access to information from the Bush administration, lobby for military contractors, serve on their boards and act as consultants to them.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Update On 1st Quarter Lobbying Data
Monday, April 21 was the deadline for lobbyists to report their activity under a new quarterly filing system. We will incorporate the new data into our Lobbying Database as the Senate Office of Public Records makes it available electronically.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
The New OpenSecrets.Org Launches in May
CRP is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, but we're giving you the birthday gift -- a new website. The redesigned OpenSecrets.org is scheduled to launch officially on May 14th with great new features and a fresh look. In addition to beefed-up news and analysis, you'll be able to easily search across our multiple databases, customize the site to monitor what most interests you and share data through widgets and social networking.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Edwards Donors Get Behind Obama
Although former presidential candidate John Edwards has not yet endorsed either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, his supporters are giving more money to Obama, The Hill reported.
Communications
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
The Millionaire on the Ballot
The U.S. Supreme Court had its hands full with money this week — more specifically, with campaign finance dollars. The justices considered Tuesday whether it's constitutional to "level the playing field" in congressional elections by increasing the dollar limit on individual contributions for candidates who face wealthy, self-funded opponents. But in 2008, fewer candidates than in recent elections appear to be reaching deep enough into their pockets to trigger the "Millionaires' Amendment," the federal law at issue in Davis v. the Federal Election Commission.
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Data UPDATE: 2008 Election Overview
OpenSecrets.org has updated summary data for the 2008 election--totals raised and spent by all candidates, most expensive races, top self-funders, etc. Search now includes data available April 17, 2008.
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Data UPDATE: 2007-2008 Profiles for Members of Congress
The day you had to file your income tax returns, House and Senate candidates had to file their 1st Quarter campaign finance reports. We are updating summary data on OpenSecrets.org as the FEC makes it available -- total raised, spent, cash on hand and other basic statistics. Deeper analysis by industry and geography will be posted next month.
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Congress's Earth Day Observance Doesn't Include Their Own Greenbacks
When environmentalists, lobbyists and eco-friendly citizens come a-knockin' on lawmakers' office doors on Earth Day next week, Democrats (and some Republicans) will likely detail their efforts to pass legislation that directs taxes collected from the oil and gas industry towards renewable energy initiatives. What the politicians probably won't mention is that while they're encouraging the country to invest in these alternatives, lawmakers themselves aren't taking a risk on them with their own money. Their most recent personal financial disclosures show that members of Congress had at least 45 times more money invested in the oil and gas industry (at least $20.6 million) than in public companies that provide "green" products and services (at least $452,100).
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
Another Record Year for Lobbying: $2.8 Billion
Corporations, industries, labor unions, governments and other interests spent a record $2.79 billion in 2007 to lobby for favorable policies in Washington, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has calculated. This represents an increase of 7.7 percent, or $200 million, over spending in 2006. And for every day Congress was in session, industries and interests spent an average of $17 million to lobby lawmakers and the federal government at large. The drug industry spent more than any other, increasing its lobbying 25 percent last year.
Categories: Election Campaign Reform
