Record contributions from dark money groups and shell companies flooded 2022 midterm elections
Federal political committees reported taking in $615 million from “dark money” groups and shell companies during the 2022 election – a new midterm record, according to a new OpenSecrets analysis of Federal Election Commission data.
Toronto-based company accused of making illegal foreign political contributions
The Toronto-based financing firm ECN Capital Corporation may have illegally contributed more than $100,000 to political committees from 2018 through 2022, including $53,506 to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 gubernatorial campaign, Campaign Legal Center alleged in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission filed Monday.
How abortion-related political spending has changed one year post-Dobbs
June 24 marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision — ending almost 50 years of federal abortion rights protections and spurring a patchwork system of state legislation to ban or protect abortion access.
The 2022 federal midterms mark the third consecutive election cycle where Democrats benefited from more dark money than Republicans, OpenSecrets’ analysis of FEC data found. That’s despite a series of failed efforts by some members of the party to crackdown on political contributions from undisclosed sources.
However, One Nation, a dark money group aligned with Senate GOP leadership, poured over $146.5 million into ads and contributions ahead of 2022 elections without disclosing any spending to the FEC — more than any other dark money group. One Nation also spent about $71 million on TV and digital ads but avoided disclosing that spending to the FEC by framing the advertising as issue advocacy, attacking Democratic incumbents without explicitly advocating for their election or defeat.
The couple’s only jointly controlled assets are a California vineyard worth between $5 million and $25 million and checking accounts worth less than $115,000, while Paul Pelosi also owns several multimillion-dollar commercial real estate rental properties in San Francisco. OpenSecrets estimated in 2018 the Pelosis were worth $115 million.
Paxton, who was recently impeached by the Texashouse on 20 charges including bribery and other misconduct, has received more funding from fossil-fuel interests than any other sector, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets. Fossil fuel giants including Koch, ExxonMobil and Chevron since 2002 kicked in over $3.9m to his campaigns.
The listed donation to the New Venture Fund coincided with Thiel helping Republican candidates during the 2022 midterms. He gave more than $35 million toward GOP causes throughout the two-year election cycle, according to data from the nonpartisan OpenSecrets.
