July 6, 2023

Supreme Court disclosures reveal more luxury travel from private interests

Justices received reimbursement for 34 individual trips in 2021 and 2022, with some traveling to Europe as private groups foot the bill.

Who was the big winner in Virginia’s primaries?

In the hotly-contested June primaries to decide the balance of power in the Virginia General Assembly, one party can claim victory: big donors.

This story is part of a series produced in partnership with the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.

Dive deeper into the data behind the headlines

This week, The Hill reported that Democrats were more likely to have donated to a political campaign in the last two years. The poll’s findings come days after the second fundraising quarter ended. 

Biden’s 2020 campaign raised $656.8 million in contributions from donors giving $200 or less, according to OpenSecrets data. Small individual contributions also played a significant role in former President Trump’s campaign that year, with about $378.1 million —nearly half — of his 2020 campaign funds coming from small-dollar donors.

If you have ever wondered which members of the House and Senate are the most popular among individual donors giving small amounts, look no further. The chart above links to a comprehensive list that reveals the percentage of campaign money every candidate gets from individuals contributing a total of $200 or less.

Candidates that campaign on attracting small donors and rejecting PAC money, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), typically do well in this metric. The same goes for some high-profile members, such as Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) who raised millions from small donors in 2018 after gaining exposure as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

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See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:

‘Double agents’: fossil-fuel lobbyists work for US groups trying to fight climate crisis (The Guardian)

Lobbyists, like lawyers, are not required to hold the same worldview as their clients, according to Sarah Bryner, director of research at OpenSecrets, a non-profit that tracks lobbying. “But you could see it would be problematic to represent clients with radically opposed views to other clients,” she said.

Congress wants to regulate AI. Big Tech is eager to help (LA Times)

According to an analysis by OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics, 123 companies, universities and trade associations spent a collective $94 million lobbying the federal government on issues including AI in the first quarter of 2023.

Democrats more likely than Republicans to have donated to a political campaign in past two years: poll (The Hill)

Biden’s 2020 campaign raised $656.8 million in contributions from donations of $200 and under, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks money in politics. Small individual contributions also played a significant role in former President Trump’s campaign that year, with about $378.1 million — or almost half — of his 2020 campaign donations coming from small-dollar donations.

CNBC

Reuters

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The Philadelphia Inquirer

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Detroit News

FactCheck.org

NPR - Nebraska Public Media

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