Campaign Finance and Elections
Follow the Leader (and the money!)
The race to succeed Henry Waxman (D-CA) as the top-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee began within days of Waxman announcing that he would retire from Congress at the end of this year. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the third-ranking Democrat on the committee, immediately threw his hat in the ring, as did fifth-ranking
Gunning for a Fight?
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced plans to spend $50 million this year to fight gun violence. Bloomberg will bring together the gun control groups that he already funds – Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America – to form a new organization called Everytown
Breaking Down the McCutcheon Decision
Individuals now can make campaign contributions to an unlimited number of candidates, party committees, and federal political action committees (PACs). The Supreme Court’s 5-4 McCutcheon v. FECdecision did away with aggregate limits on individual contributions, freeing deep-pocketed donors to max-out to as many candidates and committees as they desire. At issue in McCutcheon was the cap on
The 2014 Elections: An Early Forecast
This is one of a series of posts from the Congressional Update As we talked about earlier this morning, the 113th Congress has passed a historically low number of bills. For this and other reasons, it’s not a surprise that some members of Congress are deciding not to run for reelection in 2014. Here is
Midterm Election Projections
Both parties electoral fortunes reached highs and lows October 2013. During the government shutdown it was obvious to many commentators that Democrats would steamroll Republicans. Two weeks later after the rough roll out of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans were on the verge of a landslide victory. Now it appears no party gained significant ground
Lagon: A Knockout Blow for Campaign Finance Laws
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010 delivered a wallop that left federal campaign finance regulations reeling, but McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission threatens to land the knockout blow. Throughout the nearly four decades since its decision in Buckley v. Valeo, the court has consistently recognized a key distinction between contributions made directly to
The House’s Competitiveness Problem… or Lack Thereof
Nathan Gonzales at Roll Call asks: “Are there really fewer competitive House districts than ever before?” The very short answer is “yes.” Today, there are fewer competitive districts than ever before. The trend is visible over the past 20 years but it is much more dramatic if we look at the past 50, or
An Inside Look At Congressional Fundraising
Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker yesterday tweeted snippets he overheard from an unnamed congressman making fundraising calls from a public space. The tweets provide a small look into the grueling demands that are a reality for many first-term members of Congress, as well as members in vulnerable seats. As Lizza notes, raising campaign money involves a
The 2012 Election Results: Implications for Federal Personnel
President Obama’s reelection means that a major assault on federal pay and benefits, which many feared would be a part of a Romney-Ryan administration, will not occur. Nevertheless, there will continue to be long-term pressures to reduce federal spending, and agency budgets and federal personnel will undoubtedly be a part of that for some time
Five Things You Didn’t Know about the 2012 Elections
With dozens of cable, radio, web-based, and print outlets covering the campaign, obviously there’s a ton of punditry out there. Much of it, we’ve noticed, is repetitive, one-sided, or simply misinformed. GAI is hoping to add something useful to the discussion that you may not have heard or read yet. Let us know what you