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This week in money-in-politics
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Wall Street donor influence shows unprecedented growth 10 years after Citizens United
The 2010 landmark ruling in Citizens United amplified the influence of deep-pocketed Wall Street stockbrokers and private investors in federal politics and rewarded them with greater political purchasing power.
The securities and investment industry gave more to outside spending groups than any other industry in each of the last four full election cycles. As big money continues to take advantage of current campaign finance regulations, the financial industry remains at the top as the 2020 election gets underway.
Since 2012, the industry has contributed at least $80 million to outside groups in every cycle, more than half of that coming from a small group of individuals. Before the Supreme Court decision, the industry never spent more than $17.8 million in any election cycle.
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Candidates and outside groups often coordinate, most recently in Michigan
John James, Republican challenger to Sen. Gary Peters, paid a political consultant to help manage his campaign in May. Just a few months later, the same consultant was running a “dark money” group attacking Peters’ record. The ties between James and the dark money group are an instance of problematic — if not illegal — coordination between political campaigns and outside groups.
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Billionaires spent big following Citizens United — expect them to spend more in 2020
Billionaires spent unprecedented amounts of money influencing elections over the last decade — the top three donors and their spouses gave $717 million to outside groups such as super PACs — and they’re expected to shell out even more in 2020. Two of those billionaires are vying for the Democratic nomination for president.
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OpenSecrets speaks at United Against Corruption rally
On Monday, OpenSecrets outreach manager Brendan Quinn spoke at the United Against Corruption rally outside the U.S. Capitol building. Joining a number of powerful speakers involved in the democracy reform movement and representing a range of views, he reflected on the impact of Citizens United and OpenSecrets research that shows massive increases in spending in the decade that followed.
Watch it here
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