Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

More than two-thirds of outside spending backed losing candidates

Republican-leaning outside groups got trounced in Tuesday's election results, with the biggest spenders getting little return for their investment. Labor unions had a much better track record, with some directing 75 percent of their money--or more--to winning causes.

Four House races where outside money may have pushed the needle

   Two standing congressmen, Joe Heck and Reid Ribble, who were helped by outside money

Obama campaign falls short of billion dollar goal--by $1.8 million

In the presidential fundraising race, President Obama came out on top, raking in $998.2 million to Mitt Romney's $834.5 million, an advantage of $163.7 million. But the president may need every last penny. Since Friday, outside groups gave $37.5 million to support Romney. The figure for Obama: $2.9 million.

Karl Rove's super PAC breaks $100 million in spending

American Crossroads, the super PAC run by Karl Rove, has spent more than $100 million.

What we learned: 10 lessons from the campaign brought to you by Citizens United

For the candidates, it's all over except for the voting, but for those of us who follow money in politics, it will take months to close the books on what will be the most expensive election in history. Meanwhile, here are a few lessons we learned in the brave new world of unlimited political money:

Local election officials let partisan color$ $how

Thousands of dollars donated by elections officials in Ohio, Florida, and Colorado illustrates an under-appreciated fact of American political life: Election officials are often political partisans who either run for office in the same elections they supervise or owe their jobs to people who do.

No donors to report but $1.5 million to spend for Romney

A political action committee that so far has reported no donations in the current campaign cycle has just unleashed $1.5 million in Internet advertising to help Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Eleven House races drawing 11th-hour outside money

Chamber of Commerce funding secret but agenda public

One of the biggest “dark money” spenders in next week’s elections is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But while the Chamber's funding sources may be murky, its aims -- unlike those of some wealthy super PAC donors -- are relatively transparent.

Outside spenders dump $210 million into last full week of the campaign

In the last full week before the election, outside spending groups have bombarded voters with a record $210 million in ads, direct mail, and other political expenditures, and, as in weeks past, the vast majority of the funds went to support Republican candidates. Since Sept. 7 -- when the FEC began requiring all groups to disclose independent expenditures, regardless of the content -- the rate of outside spending has ballooned, reaching a new high this week. A Sunlight analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows that organizations dropped $132.6 million to back Republicans in the period between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1, while just $76.4 went to help Democrats. That compares to $26 million for the second week of September.

More guns of October: FSA PAC drops $600,000 in final days of election

Another newly formed super PAC, FSA PAC, or Fair Share Action, is dropping late money, this time on the Democrats’ side. The group reported spending $497,000 to buy an ad supporting Obama on the last day of October and more than $119,000 to support Montana Senator Jon Tester.

Outside spending group defends Republican outsiders

Mystery PAC drops $1.7 million before revealing Adelson connection

A super PAC that deliberately disguised its connection to Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson emerged from the shadows to drop nearly $1.7 million in a single day this week to oppose President Barack Obama's reelection, one of a series of money bombs in a week where outside spending threatens to top $200 million.

Conservative columnists' anti-Obama ads backed by unknown donors

The super PAC run by conservative columnists Michael Reagan and Dick Morris is dropping last-minute money on series of ads against President Barack Obama, and the vast majority of the donors are unknown.