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April 9, 2021

This week in money-in-politics

McConnell battles corporate America after benefiting from business interests

Corporate America is clashing with GOP leaders over Georgia Republicans’ bill to overhaul voting laws, representing another break between the two forces that have long been closely aligned.

A slew of corporations have denounced the legislation over measures that civil rights groups argue that would restrict voting access for people of color. Delta Air Lines and Coca Cola, both headquartered in Georgia, are among some 100 companies to release statements opposing the bill. Major League Baseball moved its All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to outcry over the law.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — a top beneficiary of political donations from business interests — made headlines this week when he issued a warning to corporate America to “stay out of politics.” He noted he wasn’t referring to political contributions.

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Huge Q1 fundraising hauls point to expensive 2022 races

Incumbent lawmakers and hopeful challengers are gearing up for the 2022 midterms, just three months after members of the 117th Congress were sworn in. The midterm elections will be fiercely competitive as Democrats look to exploit GOP retirements and expand their narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Early fundraising numbers signal a fiercely competitive campaign season on the horizon. The deadline for campaigns to disclose their first quarter contribution totals doesn’t arrive until April 15. Some candidates opted to voluntarily disclose their fundraising sums, a tactic often used to demonstrate that momentum is building.
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Trump has 10 times more campaign cash than he did four years ago

Former President Donald Trump has amassed 10 times more campaign cash than he had four years ago, and he’s already resuming fundraising efforts ahead of intra-party clashes in the 2022 midterms and a potential 2024 presidential run. Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America PAC, had $85 million in the bank through March, CNBC reported this week. That’s up from $31 million through the end of 2020. The group will officially file its fundraising and spending figures with the Federal Election Commission by April 15. Bolstered by a constant stream of online donations from diehard supporters, Trump is in a stronger financial position than he was four years ago.
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Foreign billionaire conspired to violate election law in straw donor scheme

A Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire agreed to pay the U.S. government $1.8 million to resolve allegations that he conspired to violate federal election laws in a “straw donor” scheme to route illegal foreign contributions to U.S. presidential and congressional candidates, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. Gilbert Chagoury, a foreign national prohibited by federal law from making contributions to political groups or campaigns to influence U.S. elections, routed approximately $180,000 to the campaign committees of four U.S. candidates through straw donors over the course of three election cycles.
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Be Informed: Amicus Briefs Filed in Supreme Court Supporting Donor Disclosure

Seven states have recently passed bills restricting the disclosure of donors to politically active nonprofits, with four more considering similar measures. On March 12, 2021, eleven scholars of nonprofit law filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court on a California case, advocating that the government must continue to ensure that "assets donated for charitable purposes are in fact used for those purposes." They argue that, "The First Amendment protects the nonprofit sector from unreasonable governmental intrusions, but it does not give nonprofit organizations an invisibility shield."

Another amicus brief in the California case was filed by U.S. Senators led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, using OpenSecrets' research to highlight how lack of nonprofit donor disclosure has allowed special interests to "exert political influence under the cloak of anonymity."

Read the briefs here

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OpenSecrets in the News

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

Corporate America isn’t welcoming former Trump Cabinet officials with open arms, headhunters say (The Washington Post)
Headhunters and other corporate advisers say the calculus for executives at most large, publicly traded companies is simple. Offering a board seat to anyone in Trump's inner orbit risks inviting a revolt from customers, employees or shareholders.
Why Americans Can’t Resist A Celebrity Political Candidates (FiveThirtyEight)
How seriously should we take celebrities who express a desire to run for political office? And how likely is it that they actually win, especially if they’re up against seasoned politicians?
Firebrands Get Path to Campaign Cash in Democratic Election Bill (Bloomberg)
Candidates who get the most support from small-dollar donors have national profiles. Among House members, Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive, raised the most from donors giving less than $200, taking 79.5% of her money from them.

CNN
Bloomberg
Time
The Colorado Sun
WMUR - New Hampshire
San Antonio Report
New Jersey Advance
The Fresno Bee
YubaNet
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
The Great Courses Daily
Sludge
Snopes
The Sun