Tag: super PACs

Trump’s Vaunted Fundraising Machine Is Faltering

Buck Banks

Illustration by the Daily Beast

If it were a business and not politics (I know, it’s a difference without a distinction), Donald Trump would be fired for mismanagement of his oft-touted fundraising prowess. Daily Beat’s Pay Dirt newsletter has a must-read piece on how Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee is spending a dollar to generate 10 cents of income, according to the latest Election Financing Commission report.

In fact, the spending was so steep that it ate up around 90 percent of what he raised. So while the committee took in an impressive $24 million, it spent about $22 million to get there. That means the famous dealmaker spent a dollar to make a little more than a dime.

Compare that trade-off to the previous quarter, where the same committee spent just $9.7 million but pulled in $17 million. That’s a $7 million return. Now, it’s $2 million.

Read the rest here.

Dem PAC Pours $20 Million Into State Races

Buck Banks

$20 million

“With the battle for state legislatures taking on an elevated importance during this midterm cycle, a Democratic super PAC is investing more than $20 million in state legislative races, with about 70 percent of the funds going to support candidates in 25 districts across Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona,” the New York Times reports. “The investment is from Forward Majority, the super PAC, as Democrats across the country are pouring significant resources into state legislative races.”

Clinton Super Pac to Spend $6 Million on TV Ads Aimed at Minorities

Buck Banks

$6 million

Amount Priorities USA, Hillary Clinton’s top super PAC, is spending on TVads targeting Latino and African-American voters, CNN reports. “The super PAC has joined with The Latino Victory Project, El Super Pac Voto Latino and People for the American Way’s Latinos Vote! to air more than $3 million worth of Spanish language TV and radio ads in Florida and Nevada, the groups announced on Wednesday.”

Most Campaign Ads Paid for with Outside Money

Buck Banks

70%

Of the approximately $150 million spent on advertisements in the 2016 presidential race has come from outside groups, NBC News reports. “But there is a significant difference by party: 83% of the Republican ad dollars, especially in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, have come from Super PACs and other outside groups, versus just a mere 2% for Democrats.”

Iowa not so Super for Super PACs

Buck Banks

$26.6 million

Amount super PACs have spent on the Republican primary in Iowa — with minimal effect, the Des Moines Register reports. “The groups, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of candidates, have spent $26.6 million to benefit candidates’ Iowa campaigns through Dec. 12. But many of them have little to show for their investment. … More than a third of that money has gone to support candidates who have dropped out of the race, and another third has gone to support former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican who is polling in single digits.”

Bush’s Right to Rise Super PAC Likely to Miss Donation Goal

Buck Banks

$100,000,000

Amount the super PAC backing former Florida governor Jeb Bush is likely to NOT collect by the end of June, despite widespread expectations that the group would hit that record-breaking sum, the Washington Post reports. “The exact size of the war chest is closely held, but two individuals familiar with internal discussions believe the total that the Right to Rise super PAC will report in mid-July could be substantially lower than the nine figures that senior Republicans have anticipated.”