Also: New looks at outside groups

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May 21, 2020
This week in money-in-politics

The FEC is back, but challenges await the divided commission


The U.S. Senate confirmed Republican lawyer Trey Trainor to the Federal Election Commission over the objections of campaign finance watchdogs, giving the agency the fourth member it needs to enforce election laws.

The Republican-led Senate confirmed Trainor on a party-line vote Tuesday. Democrats and prominent good government groups opposed Trainor’s nomination, concerned by his history of defending “dark money” groups that exploit loopholes to keep their donors secret. Campaign Legal Center President Trevor Potter, a former Republican FEC commissioner, said Trainor was being nominated to “render the agency toothless.”

Commissioner retirements and inaction from the Senate reduced the six-person commission to just three members last year, leaving the FEC without a quorum for 262 days.
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** Biden statement guides donors from one super PAC to another
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Unite the Country, a super PAC supporting Joe Biden’s White House bid, saw its donations disappear after the former vice president signaled to donors that they should give to a different Democratic group. Formed last year to back Biden’s primary campaign, Unite the Country raised just $723,000 in April, its worst month of 2020. Only about one-tenth of the group’s monthly fundraising came in after April 15.
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** ‘Dark money’ overshadows 2020 election political ad spending
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More than half of all TV ads in the presidential election and congressional races since the start of the 2020 election cycle were sponsored by “dark money” groups that keep their donors secret. That’s according to a new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project in partnership with OpenSecrets examining 2020 election cycle political ad spending through May 10.
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** GOP retirement spurs crowded primaries in Georgia’s 7th district
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A closely contested race with crowded primaries for both Democrats and Republicans in Georgia’s 7th District is grabbing national attention. Six Democrats and seven Republicans are scrambling to clinch their parties’ nominations. Historically held by Republicans, this time the suburban Atlanta seat is a likely toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report.
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How are Trump and Biden spending their campaign cash?


President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden have different ideas about how to spend campaign cash. Flush with cash, Trump’s campaign is shelling out millions of dollars on ads blasting the former vice president, while Biden’s camp is still staffing up as it transitions into a general election campaign.

All political candidates are currently limited in what they can do. The coronavirus pandemic has forced campaigns to move online, with candidates hosting campaign events and fundraisers from their homes. Still, OpenSecrets’ expenditures database shows how the presidential contenders’ strategies differ.
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OpenSecrets in the News

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

* ** Burr steps down as Senate intelligence chair amid FBI investigation (WUSA9 CBS) ([link removed])
Sen. Richard Burr stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after the FBI served a search warrant for his phone as part of an ongoing insider-trading investigation tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

* ** ‘COVID forced our hand’: Texas entities join lobbying rush over federal government’s coronavirus response (The Dallas Morning News) ([link removed])
Scores of companies, groups and municipalities are petitioning Washington about the pandemic, per lobbying disclosures.

* ** Finally With a Quorum, Federal Election Commission Faces ‘Extensive Backlog of Cases’ (Government Executive) ([link removed])
The nation’s campaign finance watchdog gets back to work after being hamstrung the last eight and a half months.

** The New York Times ([link removed])

** Politico ([link removed])

** The Washington Free Beacon ([link removed])

** Nonprofit Quarterly ([link removed])

** New Jersey Advocate ([link removed])

** Colorado Politics ([link removed])

** East Idaho News ([link removed])

** WMUR New Hampshire ([link removed])

** The Hour ([link removed])

** Business Insider ([link removed])

** Snopes ([link removed])

** Sludge ([link removed])



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