Dark Money Spending for the 2014 Elections is Three Times More Than at Same Time in 2012 Cycle

Senator Kay Hagan ((D-N.C.) is in  a tough race for re-
election.Over 90% of ads in her campaign were sponsored
by outside groups, including dark money. (Photo by NATO)

By Communications
As Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) presides today over a Rules Committee hearing on dark money in the 2014 elections, tallies by the Center for Responsive Politics show that nondisclosing groups have already reported spending more than three times as much as they had at this point in the 2012 elections -- a presidential cycle when higher spending would be expected.

In written testimony provided for the committee, CRP noted that the spending by groups that don't disclose their donors -- 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations and 501(c)(6) trade groups -- is also becoming more bipartisan. In previous years, dark money spending was mostly conservative, making up 88 percent of such expenditures in 2010 and 85 percent in 2012. In the 2014 cycle thus far, liberal organizations account for more than 40 percent of the spending by nondisclosing groups.

Spending by liberal nondisclosing groups is more than four times higher than it was at this point in 2012, while their conservative counterparts have tripled their previous spending level.

"Our data demonstrate that substantial and increasing proportions of election advocacy spending are coming from organizations with meaningless names that claim to be exempt from donor disclosure because they are primarily focused on social welfare objectives or professional association activities," said CRP in its written testimony. 

"In fact, however, nothing in statutory language from FECA through BCRA, or in Court decisions from Buckley v. Valeo through McConnell v. FEC, Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC, Citizens United v. FEC and, most recently, McCutcheon v. FEC suggests the kind of disclosure exemption these groups now claim. All of these statutes and decisions emphasize the role of spender and donor disclosure as a constitutionally permissible and indeed critical element in the campaign finance process." 

Also, in a report just released, the Wesleyan Media Project, in partnership with CRP, finds that 59 percent of the ads aired in Senate races by outside groups so far in the 2014 election cycle have been sponsored by dark money groups. The report uses data from Kantar Media/CMAG, which collects ads run nationwide.

The top-spending group, purely in terms of the cost of television air time purchased, is Americans for Prosperity, the 501(c)(4) organization closely linked to Charles and David Koch. It has spent an estimated $9 million to run its ads. AFP has publicly stated that it has spent more than $30 million thus far in the cycle, a figure that includes production costs, non-television ads and other expenses. 

The report also finds that in North Carolina, where Sen. Kay Hagan (D) is embroiled in an extremely competitive race to keep her seat, more than 90 percent of the ads that have run thus far are sponsored by outside groups, including dark money organizations such as AFP. 

Reprinted with permission from OpenSecrets.