Midterm elections gave us a glimpse of the corporate cash onslaught coming in 2012
Stunning Statistics of the Week:
- $73 million: Amount of his own money that Rick Scott spent on his successful bid for governor of Florida
- 62%: Percentage of Florida voters who say they have reservations about Scott
Winning candidates rode a wave of spending by outside groups
Outside groups put their money behind the winners in 58 of the 74 races in which power changed hands Tuesday, according to a new Public Citizen analysis. In only 14 contests did the loser benefit more from spending by outside groups.
Spend more, win more…
Republican-leaning political organizations spent $167 million on the midterm elections and won almost twice as many races as they lost. In particular, two groups co-launched by Republican strategist Karl Rove—American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS—backed the victor in 23 of the 36 House of Representatives and Senate races where a winner was declared.
…But money doesn’t always guarantee success
Not everyone who broke open the bank account prevailed this week. Several wealthy candidates lost despite spending eye-popping sums. Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO, spent $142 million to become California’s next governor, but she still lost to Democrat Jerry Brown. And in Connecticut, former wrestling executive Linda McMahon lost her bid for a U.S. Senate seat despite spending an estimated $50 million on the race.
U.S. Supreme Court lets stand ruling requiring political committees to disclose funders
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to let stand a lower court ruling requiring federal political committees to disclose information about how much they spend and who funds them. The case stemmed from a challenge by SpeechNow.org to Federal Election Commission rules, and it was considered good news for campaign finance reform advocates.
If you think a lot of money was spent on the midterms, just wait till 2012
Independent groups spent $270 million on the midterms, shattering previous records. We’ll likely see even more money pouring into the presidential contest in 2012.
Visit www.DontGetRolled.org to learn more!
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