Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Controversial Arizona nonprofit drops $1 million against Obama

In the past week, a GOP-led dark money group from Arizona that had barely spent any money on federal races has dropped more than $1.2 million to oppose President Barack Obama, as well as $60,000 to oppose Utah’s only House Democrat, Jim Matheson.

Unknown donors fund 11th hour ads against Democratic Senate candidates

A GOP-aligned super PAC that formed just three weeks before the election and whose donors remain unknown dropped about $1 million on two key Senate races on Friday, according to recent Federal Election Commission reports.

Web of union giving

FreedomWorks makes rare TV buy against Duckworth

Newly flush with more than $5 million in cash from a mystery donor, FreedomWorks, the libertarian super PAC that touts its grassroots focus, has just made a $1.5 million television ad buy in a competitive Illinois House race.

The $50 million couple: Adelsons lap the field of big donors

In a campaign characterized by big donors, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, stand out. The couple's latest blizzard of political check writing -- which produced more than $15 million of donations to Republican candidates and causes in a one week period this month -- brought their total political contributions for the 2012 cycle to a whopping $52 million.

Week's outside spending favors Republicans 2:1

Less than two weeks before the election, outside spending took another big leap last week, jumping to $180 million since last Friday favoring Republicans nearly two-to-one.

Dark money group attacks Obama on Benghazi

Special Operations Opsec Education Fund, a dark money group that shares an office with top aides to the 2008 campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, is launching an $397,000 ad buy attacking the President Barack Obama and his administration over last September's Benghazi embassy attack, according to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. 

Outside political spending crosses $1 billion mark

Outside groups have spent more than $1 billion trying to influence this year's election, and the tidal wave of special interest money so no signs of abating in the 10 days that remain before Election Day.

Big bucks propel super PACs' sprint to the finish

Billionaire casino-owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife have poured more than $12.5 million into super PACs' coffers in just the first two and a half weeks of October, new campaign finance filings show. The biggest chunk is $10 million to Restore Our Future, which backs Romney; yesterday we reported on the couples' $2.5 million to the Ending Spending Action Fund, and Independence Virginia.

Colorado Super PAC moves into Scott Tipton's race

The Colorado Future Fund, a super PAC fueled by a controversial donor to GOP Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton's campaign, today filed notice that it had made an expenditure against Tipton's Democratic opponent, Sal Pace.

Dead end disclosure: Ohio super PAC lists dark money donors

The Government Integrity Fund Action Network, a Columbus, Ohio-based super PAC that dropped a late $1.1 million ad buy opposing Connecticut House candidate Elizabeth Esty last week, disclosed today the big donors who funded it: A pair of political nonprofits that don't disclose their donors.

Eleventh hour political donations marked by Adelson largesse

A casino-fueled and Israel-inspired power couple that so far has underwritten Republican candidates and causes to the tune of more than $35 million in the 2012 campaign continued its open-handed ways in the closing weeks of the contest.

Crossroads machine drops combined $78 million this month -- so far

Blowing away the competition, the GOP-aligned independent groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS have now dropped a combined $78 million in October alone to influence the 2012 election.

Super PACs that stay off the air

With early voting starting Saturday in Florida, a Miami-based group of community organizers and union members will be undertaking a major push across five of the battleground state’s cities to get voters to the polls.