How Cornyn-aligned dark money fueled Texas’ record-breaking Senate primary
From OpenSecrets:
A Super PAC that raised more than $35 million to support John Cornyn in the Texas Republican Senate primary raised more than $8 million of that from a network of dark money nonprofits linked to two Republican party operatives. As nonprofits, they are not required to disclose their donors, and are permitted to donate unlimited amounts to Super PACs, so long as they do not violate rules against coordinating with campaigns. The nonprofits have also donated millions of dollars to other PACs in several other states.
ACLU hit with foreign money complaint as new election law faces major test
From Fox News: A conservative watchdog organization has filed a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General against the American Civil Liberties Union. The complaint alleges that the ACLU violated a Missouri law against foreign interference in elections. The ACLU received a $2 million grant from a Switzerland-based nonprofit a year before it gave $500,000 to a ballot question committee in Missouri. The MO law prohibits nonprofits funded by foreign sources from contributing to political committees. The ACLU claims it is compliant with MO law.
A mysterious, GOP-linked super PAC is roiling a Texas Democratic primary
From POLITICO: A super PAC in Texas has been spending money to boost controversial Democrats in Texas, a strategy that may be the result of Republicans attempting to support weaker Democratic candidates to pave the way for an easier general election. The PAC, Lead Left, has spent more than $900,000 backing a Democratic candidate who has been accused of making antisemitic comments. Democrats claim the PAC is linked to Republicans, and connections to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed were found on its website.
Maine Ethics suggests going further than federal rules in policing candidate communications
From The Maine Morning Star: The Maine Ethics Commission, the state’s campaign finance regulatory commission, has agreed to issue an advisory statement warning candidates against the practice of “redboxing.” Redboxing is a common technique used by political campaigns to make allied Super PACs aware of what ads and messaging they would like placed, without running afoul of laws against coordination between campaigns and Super PACs. Campaigns will put information on their public website, often in literal red boxes, noting what demographics they would like targeted with what messaging.The Maine Ethics Commission is warning that Super PAC ads placed directly based on redboxed information could be considered an over-limit contribution under the Maine Clean Elections Act.
