Millions of dollars fuel political upset in the Iowa Senate Democratic primary
On Tuesday, Iowa Democrats chose retired Navy Vice Admiral Michael Franken to challenge longtime incumbent Sen. Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa) in the U.S. Senate general election. Franken raised millions of dollars and overcame trailing poll numbers to best the expected nominee, former Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D–Iowa).
As deadly shootings across the country continue to shock the conscience and spur debate, OpenSecrets is expanding our unique dataset on gun money in politics to track spending on lobbying and political contributions from the small arms and ammunition industry — at the state and federal level. Follow the money boosting members of Congress and officeholders across the country as well as current NRA data.
Explore our data on gun rights, gun control and gun manufacturer money in politics.
Dario McCarty joined OpenSecrets as a Reporting Intern in 2022. He is a rising senior at the University of California Berkeley pursuing a degree in Political Economy and English. Before working at OpenSecrets, Dario worked as a court reporter for the court watchdog the Davis Vanguard and as an academic advisor to incarcerated individuals for UC Berkeley's Underground Scholars Initiative.
Caroline Keller
Caroline Keller joined OpenSecrets as a Research Intern in 2022. Caroline worked in the workforce development space as a Labor Market Research Analyst for the state of Vermont and as a Data and Evaluation Specialist at a nonprofit focused on gender equity. Caroline is currently pursuing an M.S. in Public Policy and Data Analytics at Carnegie Mellon University.
Srijita Datta
Srijita Datta joined OpenSecrets as a Reporting Intern in 2022. Srijita is a master's student at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, MO. Originally from India, she was working as a freelance reporter and photographer in Kolkata prior to moving to the US for graduate studies. She also worked as a data reporting fellow with Live Data Viz - which was India's first data-backed, mobile-first visual story platform.
OpenSecrets in the News
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
How Richard Uihlein became one of the GOP’s biggest megadonors (Financial Times) According to a Financial Times analysis of federal and state campaign finance records and data from OpenSecrets, Uihlein is now the largest donor behind the biggest anti-abortion political action committee, the Susan B Anthony List-affiliated Women Speak Out.
A review of money in politics (Wisconsin Public Radio) The 2020 election cycle was the most expensive in American history, according to the political watchdog OpenSecrets. With big spending already underway in this year’s campaigns, we talk with the organization’s executive director for a review of money in politics.
