Center for Public Integrity: National Donors Pick Winners in State Elections

Top 50 contributors dump $440 million into 2014 races

The strategy allows donors to multiply their influence, said Larry Noble, former general counsel of the FEC who now works as an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center.

 
“You give the maximum to the candidates, but then you want to give more,” he said. “You give to the party committee that’s also going to support the candidate. You give to outside groups that are also going to support the candidate.” …

The Republican and Democratic governors' associations employ another common strategy that both amplifies and obfuscates their giving: contributing to “an outside group with a good-sounding name” to make support of a candidate look more diverse and to help attract different constituencies, Noble said. …

“It’s name branding,” Noble said. “If you were a teacher and you see an ad from a teachers union, you’re going to give it a lot more credibility than an ad from the DGA.” …

Noble said candidates typically know which donors they have to thank for their success — even when patrons filter their donations through independent groups. 

To read the full artuicle at the Center for Public Integrity, click here.