Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Super PAC profile: 1911 United—a new kind of committee?

Although one of its founders is a longtime D.C. political insider found by an independent probe last year to have wasted D.C. taxpayers’ money, the pro-Obama super PAC 1911 United claims to have a more populist bent than other independent committees that have sprung up in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.

Bain Capital tops list of Romney's career political supporters

Bain Capital, the private equity firm that Mitt Romney has touted as the source of his business acumen and one of his opponents for the Republican nomination has labeled "vultures" is the largest source of political money for the former Massachusetts governor over the course of his career.

Data lacking on private student loans

With student debt rising to a projected $1 trillion and concerns rising in the Occupy Wall Street movement and beyond about the bursting of the student loan bubble, the new federal consumer protection agency has set a Tuesday deadline for the public to send in data and stories about the rapidly expanding private student loan market—loans students are getting from banks and, increasingly, by for-profit universities such as Corinthian Colleges and DeVry University.

Super PAC profile: Citizens for a Working America flies under the radar

Citizens for Working America is not the biggest or the most influential of the super PACs, but it may provide one of the clearest illustrations of how hard it is to track the shadowy organizations that have sprung up to influence elections in the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision.

As campaigns head south, super PACs dominate the airwaves

As the Republican presidential race turns south, the key players to watch appear to be not the candidates emerging from Tuesday's New Hampshire primary but the super PACs who are supporting or opposing them.

New Super PAC seeks expansion of role for corporate, connected PACs

Dan Backer, the attorney behind the hybrid super PAC rule that allows political action committees contributing to members of Congress and other candidates to also accept unlimited contributions to make independent expenditures, is trying to extend the favor to political action committees tied to corporate entities.

Futures industry nabs former government regulator as new leader

In the latest example of a former financial regulator finding employment in the industry, the Futures Industry Association (FIA) has announced that its new president will be a former leader at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Super PAC Profile: Endorse Liberty helps Ron Paul — and a founder's company

In the three weeks since Endorse Liberty Inc. formed as a super PAC with the Federal Election Commission, the group has spent nearly $1 million on ads supporting Ron Paul, $151,000 of which went to a media company owned by one of the founders of the group.

Super PAC profile: Obama supported by Priorities USA Action

Priorities USA Action defines its mission as "committed to the reelection of President Obama." The group is currently opposing Mitt Romney with media ad buys.

Super PAC profile: Former Gingrich aides—and maybe donors—behind Winning Our Future

Even before it formally registered with the Federal Election Commission in mid-December, Winning Our Future, the leading super PAC backing Newt Gingrich, raised more than $2 million, according to founder and president Becky Burkett. That includes “a few” donations above the $100,000 mark, she said.

Super PAC profile: Red White and Blue for Santorum

Super PAC profile: Pro-Perry Make Us Great Again has ties to former staff, major donor

One of the highest spending super PACs so far, the pro-Rick Perry Make Us Great Again is headed by the Texas governor’s former chief of staff Mike Toomey.   A Texas lobbyist, Toomey is a longtime friend and confidant of Perry's who was behind Perry’s switch in party affiliation in 1985 after he was elected to the Texas legislature. He has a reputation of being Perry's “enforcer.”

Super PAC profile: Revolution PAC launches NH ad campaign touting Ron Paul's 'compassion' toward interracial couple

Super PAC spending: $13 million and counting

As the voting for the Republican presidential nomination gets underway, super PACs have already emerged as a big factor, spending more than $13 million so far in Iowa and other early-voting states. Yet a growing number of the independent expenditure groups active on behalf of presidential candidates has made moves to ensure that information on their donors will likely remain hidden until votes are cast in three more states.