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December 10, 2020
This week in money-in-politics
 
Nine of the 10 most expensive Senate races
of all time happened in 2020
 

The 2020 Senate races brought home trophy after trophy in the arena of campaign finance. When considering combined candidate and outside spending, this year’s elections gave rise to nine of the 10 most expensive Senate races ever. Combined, these nine races cost close to $2.1 billion, contributing to the estimated record $14 billion spent during the 2020 election cycle.

The Carolinas take the cake as the two most expensive Senate races ever. North Carolina came in at No. 1 with a total cost of $298.9 million. The 2020 South Carolina Senate race totaled $276.9 million.


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Pharma lobby poured millions into ‘dark money’ groups influencing 2020 election


Pharmaceutical companies’ top lobbying group funneled millions of dollars to prominent “dark money” groups that pushed industry friendly messages to lawmakers and 2020 voters. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America raised nearly $527 million last year and spent roughly $506 million, new tax returns obtained by OpenSecrets reveal. That’s a record haul for the organization, which is funded by the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies. The trade association made its largest political donation of 2019 to the American Action Network, a dark money group.
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Biden Cabinet picks worked alongside influential lobbyists at private equity firm
 

Two of President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees worked alongside top Washington lobbyists at a private equity firm that touted its “access, network and expertise” in the defense industry. Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, Biden’s pick for secretary of defense, and Antony Blinken, his choice to lead the State Department, worked as “D.C. partners” for Pine Island Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in defense companies. They advised the firm alongside several influential lawmakers-turned-lobbyists, including former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt.
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GOP Senate groups have fives times more cash for Georgia runoffs


With less than one month until the Georgia Senate runoffs, American voters outside the Peach State are frantically donating to candidates and committees there, hoping their party can secure the Senate majority. Among outside groups and party committees, Republicans have the upper hand. Senate Republican infrastructure has raised far more than Democratic groups, with nearly five times more cash left to spend in the final weeks of the race. The Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee raised more than their counterparts, the Senate Majority PAC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, from mid-October to mid-November.
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Senate restores FEC as agency
confronts massive backlog of cases
 

The U.S. Senate confirmed three new members to the Federal Election Commission Wednesday, finally giving the agency enough commissioners to enforce campaign finance laws after leaving it powerless throughout much of the 2020 election cycle.

The FEC has been without a quorum since July 4 due to retirements that left the commission with only three members out of the usual six. With three new commissioners confirmed, the FEC can again conduct meetings, change existing rules and pursue allegations of campaign finance violations.

The Senate confirmed Republican Sean Cooksey, general counsel to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Republican Allen Dickerson, legal director of the Institute for Free Speech, and Democrat Shana Broussard, counsel to FEC commissioner Steven Walther.


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OpenSecrets in the News

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

The Los Angeles Times
Fox News
The Hill
The Christian Science Monitor
Politico
MarketWatch
The Montgomery Advertiser
The Charlotte Observer
The Duke Chronicle
The Toledo Blade
The Intercept
Newsweek

 

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