Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Sunlight on super PACs

It's a big day in politics: Voters in Florida are casting ballots in their hotly contested GOP presidential primary; voters in Oregon's 1st Congressional District are picking a replacement for ex-Rep. David Wu, a Democrat. Here in Washington, we'll be hovering over computer screens and hitting the refresh button in hopes of learning who is trying to influence those contests and beyond.

Nine things you need to know about super PACs

What makes a super PAC super?

Super PACs: How we got here

Nearly four decades ago, the delivery of a suitcase stuffed with $250,000 in cash to one of then-President Richard Nixon's top aides helped fuel the Watergate scandal and a complete overhaul of the laws regulating campaign finance. Voters in the 2012 election are likely to know less about who is trying to influence their decision than they have at any time since then. And, compared to the amounts of unregulated dollars flowing into campaigns, the stash of cash that former Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans accepted during the 1972 presidential campaign seems like peanuts.

Evolution of money in politics

Here is an interactive timeline of the events that shape money in politics. Click on the dots for more information.

Revolving door boosts private equity lobbying

The Private Equity Growth Capital Council has a new president with Democratic credentials who has been through Washington's revolving door.

Super PACs have spent most on Florida ad buys, so far

While the polls have constantly fluctuated in the last week before Tuesday's GOP presidential primary in Florida, one number has seen a steady rise: the campaign money being pumped into the Sunshine State. Helping to boost the total: The two super PACs supporting frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have spent more than $15 million in the state. That number makes 38 percent of all presidential super PAC spending that Sunlight is tracking.

Gingrich super PAC super donor Sheldon Adelson has businesses under scrutiny by IRS, Justice

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, who have reportedly given a combined $10 million to Winning Our Future, the super PAC that supports and is run by former staffers of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, were drawn to him by a shared view of the importance of the U.S. relationship to Israel.

GOP lawmakers reopen fight over Keystone XL pipeline

As House Republicans reopen efforts Wednesday to win approval for the Keystone XL energy project, new lobbying records filed over the weekend reveal a lopsided spending battle over the controversial proposed pipeline.

Despite Fed's steps toward transparency, much remains opaque

In a bid to increase transparency, the Federal Reserve will for the first time make public the forecasts for benchmark interest rates that will inform discussions at tomorrow's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets monetary policy for the nation. But despite this action, there is still plenty of opacity in how the Fed conducts business.

PAC Profile: The Tea Party doesn't need unlimited money to make a splash

It's hard to believe given this year's headlines, but not all of the political action committees making an impact on this year's campaign are super PACs.

Gabrielle Giffords leaves Congress with a big war chest

No restriction on how Pro-Perry super PAC can spend funds

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's decision to drop his bid for the GOP presidential nomination Thursday raises a tantalizing question: What will happen to the big-spending super PAC that dropped close to $4 million backing his campaign?

Super PAC profile: Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart 'not coordinating'

In what may be one of the most pointed political jokes since Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal, Stephen Colbert's satirical mystery tour has arrived in South Carolina.

Regulators lobbied by industry testify on Volcker rule

Federal regulators have had at least 89 meetings with outside groups, most of them big banking interests, about the controversial "Volcker rule," the provision in the Dodd-Frank financial law that prohibits banks from making bets with their own money. The effort to curb the practice, widely held to be a contributor to the 2008 financial meltdown, was the subject of a hearing in Congress today.