Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

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.

The case of the mystery texter

This Halloween mystery all began on a dark and stormy night, when unsuspecting phones were attacked by political ads via text message. What made this message so scary is that when people went to “unwrap” the text, they realized the organization had no face. When they went searching for the sender’s website, it was dead.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg's superstorm of 11th hour political donations

With New York City struggling to recover from Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to begin airing political ads for his favorite candidates around the country through his newly-created super PAC.

Halloween special: Scary super PACs and America's zombie apocalypse

While browsing our super PAC database in the days leading up to Halloween, Sunlight reporters couldn't help but notice the number of committee names that were creepy--even scary. On the other hand, perhaps it's not so surprising given how many operate in shadowy fashion.

Americans for Tax Reform spends big on House races

The nonprofit group Americans for Tax Reform is flooding several House races with more than $14 million in independent expenditures this month. The 501(c)4 lobbying group run by prominent conservative Grover Norquist has spent $1 million in six Senate contests, but its primary focus has been on bolstering Republican candidates for the House. Recent activity by ATR has made it one of the top spenders in a number of tight races, and in some districts the huge purchases have dwarfed all previous outside spending, according to Sunlight's Follow the Unlimited Money tracker.

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.

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.