Campaign Finance

Or how can I raise $250 million to run for president?

Contribution limits

To a candidate or candidate committee per primary or general election

To a national party committee per year

To any other political committee per year

Total per campaign cycle

Individuals $2,300 $28,500 $5,000

$108,200:$42,700 to candidates$65,000 to PACs and parties

Single Candidate PACS

$2,300 $28,500 $5,000 No limit

MulticandidatePACs

$5,000 $15,000 $5,000 No limit

How do we keep track of all of this?• All contributions over $100

MUST be reported to the FEC – this is known as “Hard money,” because of its firm limits

• The Federal Gov’t will match contributions from individuals for up to $250 for Presidential candidates. Congress gets nothing.

• If you accept Fed funds, then you are limited to how much of your own money you can use in a campaign.

Would it be advantageous for him to accept federal funds?

How transparent are these donations?

• http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/campaign-finance/map.html

• http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/campaign-finance/search-contributions.html?scp=5&sq=campaign%20finance&st=cse

How to avoid rules• Collect before you announce that you’re going to

run- see Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson• Give to a political party- there are virtually no

limits, they spend on voter registration (turnout), and for issue ads.– This is known as “soft money,” which is

unlimited.• 527’s are tax exempt political organizations that

use independent funds to attack or support specific candidates through “Issue ads.”

• Bundle! It’s like facebook, but your friends have money!

McCain-Feingold Act (2002, a.k.a. BCRA) tried to limit soft money by

determining what it could be spent on, and tried to stop issue ads from

running with 30 days of a caucus or 60 days of a primary.

Also, a candidaite has to “approve their message.”

Is campaign finance reform an issue of limiting free speech?

Buckley v. Valeo• A restriction on the amount of money a person or group

can spend on political communication during a campaign necessarily reduces the quantity of expression by restricting the number of issues discussed, the depth of their exploration, and the size of the audience reached.

• This is because virtually every means of communicating ideas in today's mass society requires the expenditure of money.

• Contributions are limited, but spending is NOT.• “Independent” expenditure is unlimited as well.

F.E.C. v. Wisconsin Right to Life (2007) allows issue ads to be run up until an election.

Democratic Candidates

Candidate          Home State          Q3 Raised          Q3 Spent          Total Raised          Total Spent          Cash on Hand          Debts         

Clinton, Hillary NY$27,859,861

$22,623,680

$90,935,788

$40,472,775

$50,463,013

$2,347,486

Obama, Barack IL$21,343,292

$21,519,790

$80,256,427

$44,169,236

$36,087,191

$1,409,740

Edwards, John NC$7,157,233

$8,271,938

$30,329,152

$17,932,103

$12,397,048

$0

Dodd, Chris CT$1,522,061

$4,025,458

$13,598,152

$9,723,278

$3,874,874

$0

Kucinich, Dennis OH$1,011,696

$888,774

$2,130,200

$1,803,576

$327,094

$0

Gravel, Mike AK$130,598

$144,224

$379,795

$362,268

$17,526

$85,853

Republican Candidates

Candidate          Home State          Q3 Raised          Q3 Spent          Total Raised          Total Spent          Cash on Hand          Debts         

Romney, Mitt MA$18,396,719

$21,301,756

$62,829,069

$53,612,552

$9,216,517

$17,350,000

Giuliani, Rudy NY$11,624,255

$13,300,650

$47,253,521

$30,603,695

$16,49,826

$169,256

McCain, John AZ$5,734,478

$5,470,277

$32,124,785

$28,636,157

$3,488,628

$1,730,691

Thompson, Fred TN$12,828,111

$5,706,367

$12,828,111

$5,706,367

$7,121,744

$678,432

Paul, Ron TX$5,258,456

$2,169,644

$8,268,43

$2,824,786

$5,443,667

$0

Huckabee, Mike AR$1,034,486

$819,376

$2,345,798

$1,694,497

$651,301

$47,810

Hunter, Duncan CA$536,357

$618,117

$1,890,873

$1,758,132

$132,742

$50,000

As of June 2008…