Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

John Kerry: Influence Profile

Sen. John Kerry, now reportedly under consideration for one of two top jobs in President Obama's cabinet, has spent 28 years on Capitol Hill and run for the highest office in land, during the course of which, he has left a considerable money trail.  The Massachusetts Democrat, who saw his 2004 presidential run swift boated away from him, is being mentioned as a potential replacement for either Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, both of whom plan to leave office at the end of Obama's first term. The latter possibility comes as something of a surprise, since Kerry first burst onto the national scene as a Vietnam veteran opposed to that conflict (a position that came back to haunt him in his presidential race) and, as recently as September was criticizing the Republicans unyielding spending on defense.

In GOP leadership race, McMorris Rodgers has the dough behind her

It looks like the Republican establishment will win one and lose one as it heads into leadership elections today on Capitol Hill. As always, campaign fundraising is playing a major role in the contests.In the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., failed to convince two fundraising powerhouses, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio -- two men that may be eyeing a run at the White House in 2016 -- to take on the task of raising money for the 2014 crop of GOP Senate candidates. That means the job is likely to go to Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansan who has cultivated ties to the Tea Party. The Hill is reporting that some have questioned Moran's ability to raise the necessary stockpiles of cash.

Tobacco fueled ads helped tobacco foe Waxman win reelection

In a case of particularly odd political bedfellows, in late September the tobacco manufacturer the Liggett Group and several company executives, including the CEO, contributed more than $33,000 to a pop-up super PAC that would go on to help the candidacy of just one candidate: Rep. Henry Waxman, arguably tobacco's biggest foe in Congress.

Five reasons big money still matters after Election Day 2012

Just because some big players lost their shirts with their Election Day gamble doesn't mean Big Money won't be back at the table in upcoming contests.

Senate scorecard: Who won, and whom they owe

To the victors go the spoils: What top donors want

With the election over, a Congress full of lame ducks -- along with next year's class of soon-to-be sworn-in lawmakers, ready for freshmen orientation -- returns to Washington next week. Lobbyists and special interests that opened their wallets for candidates are poised to call in  chits in a tense environment dominated by the budget impasse that threatens to impose sweeping automatic cuts to defense and social programs if Congress doesn't act.

House freshmen faring well as incumbents

A vast majority of the freshmen swept into office two years ago on an anti-incumbency tide managed to survive their first reelection as incumbents, and while some appear to have been helped by last-minute infusions of cash from outside spenders, in many cases, independent expenditures don't appear to have made much of a difference.

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.