2016 Candidates Raise Millions in Shadow of Super PACs
via Huffington Post Politics
WASHINGTON — The first major quarterly presidential campaign fundraising disclosures came on Wednesday, but they showed barely half the money flooding into a race in which the campaigns have been overshadowed by the unlimited money super PACs supporting them.
Super PACs, supposedly independent committees that can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions and individuals, played a big role in the 2012 Republican primary, but are taking over the 2016 campaign — and the fundraising totals show where the attention lies.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision legalized unlimited contributions from corporations, unions and individuals to so-called independent groups, candidates and parties have increasingly relied on groups like super PACs and dark money nonprofits to buttress their campaigns. This change has accelerated in 2016, as fundraising for almost every Republican candidate has been eclipsed by the super PACs meant to support them.
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