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In the Kentucky Derby of political giving, one horse laps the field
By Louis Serino May 3, 2013 11:35 a.m.While bettors will be spending big on the 20 thoroughbreds racing to win Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby, many of the horses' owners have been making their own high-stakes bets -- the kind that could pay off in much more than roses.
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Stanley Cup runneth over with political cash: NHL owners scored big for GOP
By Louis Serino Apr 30, 2013 3:41 p.m.The puck drops tonight for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and while hockey's bigwigs will be watching from afar in their box suites, they certainly took the ice during last year's election -- scoring big for the GOP. According to data from Sunlight's Influence Explorer, National Hockey League owners provided more than $3 million to politicians, PACs and independent expenditure groups during the 2012 election cycle.
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Obama taps Romney donors for labor board
By Kathy Kiely Apr 9, 2013 3:16 p.m.Whether it's a sign of post-partisanship or sheer exasperation is hard to say, but two of the three nominees that President Barack Obama today tapped for seats on the National Labor Relations Board donated to the Republican who wanted to take his place.
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Baseball's (political) heavy hitters
By Louis Serino Mar 29, 2013 12:34 p.m.While MLB players will be taking the field for Sunday's and Monday's opening day games in hopes of winning a World Series title in October, team owners may have their sights set on winning a different sort of Fall Classic. According to data from Sunlight's Influence Explorer, MLB organizations pumped in over $24 million to politicians, PACs and independent expenditure groups throughout the 2012 election cycle. No wonder presidents like to toss out the season's first pitch; you can see President Barack Obama at right, practicing for a 2010 appearance on the mound.
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Karl Rove's super PAC breaks $100 million in spending
By Jacob Fenton Nov 6, 2012 11:02 a.m.American Crossroads, the super PAC run by Karl Rove, has spent more than $100 million.
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No donors to report but $1.5 million to spend for Romney
By Kathy Kiely Nov 3, 2012 10:54 a.m.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.
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Halloween special: Scary super PACs and America's zombie apocalypse
By Becca Heller Oct 31, 2012 10:50 a.m.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.
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Week's outside spending favors Republicans 2:1
By Jake Harper Oct 26, 2012 1:02 p.m.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.
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Super PACs that stay off the air
By Keenan Steiner Oct 25, 2012 12:40 p.m.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.
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Romney, Obama blitz Colorado with ads and visits
By Nancy Watzman Oct 23, 2012 8:13 a.m.When GOP nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama arrive in this battleground state for campaign rallies over the next 24 hours, they'll be accompanied by a barrage of television ads on programs ranging from news broadcasts to The View to Jimmy Kimmel to General Hospital.
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Stealthy Wealthy: Who gave big in September?
By Nancy Watzman Oct 22, 2012 12:47 p.m.It sounds like a scenario straight from central casting. A liberal Hollywood mogul and conservative Texas billionaire are among the exclusive 25-member million-dollar check writing club whose members forked over additional cash for super PACs in September, according to a recent Sunlight Foundation analysis.
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Political Ad Sleuth debuts: Track the money behind the campaign ads
By Kathy Kiely and Jake Harper Oct 10, 2012 6:33 a.m.Above Las Vegas last week, the air invisibly crackled with attacks and counter-attacks by candidates for a House and a Senate seat -- not to mention President Obama, his rival Mitt Romney and their backers. In Denver, there was a clash of political fronts: Outside groups like Planned Parenthood and Crossroads GPS competed for airtime with each other, as well as the candidates they are supporting.
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Conservatives hail Mitt, each other in Denver
By Kathryn Lucero Oct 4, 2012 5:26 p.m.Our Denver-based colleague, Nancy Watzman, caught some of the big speakers at Wednesday's Conservative Political Action Conference in Denver.
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Colorado: Team Romney keeping a low profile in a swing state?
By Nancy Watzman Oct 3, 2012 9:07 a.m.The campaign activity that's visible so far calls into question how much the Republican nominee and his backers plan to invest in a state where recent polling shows Obama ahead of Romney, and public records show the president outspending his rival in major television markets.
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