2014 Election

see dark $. also 2014 tag

=<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/cost.php">https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/cost.php</a>Cycle Total Cost of Election Congressional Races Presidential Race2016 $6,444,253,265 $4,057,519,568 $2,386,733,6962014 $3,845,393,700 $3,845,393,700 N/A2012 $6,285,557,223 $3,664,141,430 $2,621,415,7922010 $3,631,712,836 $3,631,712,836 N/A2008 $5,285,680,883 $2,485,952,737 $2,799,728,1462006 $2,852,658,140 $2,852,658,140 N/A2004 $4,147,304,003 $2,237,073,141 $1,910,230,8622002 $2,181,682,066 $2,181,682,066 N/A2000 $3,082,340,937 $1,669,224,553 $1,413,116,3841998 $1,618,936,265 $1,618,936,265 N/APresidential election cyclehttps://thinkprogress.org/meet-the-newest-wave-of-tea-party-congressmen-73175b1a88bfIf there is a silver lining to be gleaned from a night of storm clouds for liberals, it’s this: they will no longer have to utter the words “Rep. Michele Bachmann.” Nor “Congressman Steve Stockman.” Nor a host of other lawmakers with fringe right-wing views on gay people, science, poverty, and other important issues.However, with every election comes a host of new politicians looking to fill their shoes. Unsurprisingly, there is no shortage of new Tea Party blood in Congress this year.Incoming:<blockquote name="59cc" id="59cc" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--p" style="margin: 29px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. TOM EMMER (R-MN) — Bachmann is leaving an outsized role to fill, but if anyone is up to the task, it’s the man <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">succeeding her</a> in Minnesota’s sixth congressional district. While running for governor in 2010, Emmer didn’t argue that the minimum wage was too low, but rather too high. He <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">proposed</a> slashing the minimum wage for waiters, a slightly more moderate version of his 2005 plan to eliminate the minimum wage for everyone. Emmer also <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">promised</a> to veto anti-bullying legislation, despite the fact that a number of gay teens had recently committed suicide in Minnesota. Finally, Emmer <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2013/06/19/2181561/meet-tom-emmer/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">spearheaded</a> a conservative push to “nullify” Obamacare, a unconstitutional tactic used that nearly triggered a civil war three decades before the actual war of secession.</blockquote><blockquote name="8ef7" id="8ef7" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. BARBARA COMSTOCK (R-VA) — As if the Koch Brothers didn’t have enough influence over American politics already, they now have one of their own <a href="http://thehill.com/campaign-issues/214429-k-st-connections" data-href="http://thehill.com/campaign-issues/214429-k-st-connections" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">former lobbyists</a> in the halls of Congress. (Comstock has <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/barbara-comstock-bush-koch-brothers-lobbyist" data-href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/barbara-comstock-bush-koch-brothers-lobbyist" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">also</a> lobbied for the military contractor Blackwater and the private prison giant GEO Group.) In the Virginia House of Delegates, Comstock led the push for a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/09/24/3571344/barbara-comstock-interview/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/09/24/3571344/barbara-comstock-interview/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">mandatory ultrasound law</a>, which would have originally required women who wanted an abortion, even victims of rape or incest, to first undergo a transvaginal ultrasound. She was also one of the most <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/barbara-comstock-bush-koch-brothers-lobbyist" data-href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/barbara-comstock-bush-koch-brothers-lobbyist" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">stringent staff investigators</a> during 1990s-era Republican-led inquiries into Bill Clinton.</blockquote><blockquote name="10d7" id="10d7" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. GLENN GROTHMAN (R-WI) — Grothman’s <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/08/13/3470728/glenn-grothman-controversial/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/08/13/3470728/glenn-grothman-controversial/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">views</a> are as prolific as they are extreme. He <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/04/09/460917/wisconsin-state-senator-money-less-important-wome/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/04/09/460917/wisconsin-state-senator-money-less-important-wome/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">believes</a> that women are paid less because “money is more important for men.” He <a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/blog/article_0ae9979a-2267-11e0-8190-001cc4c03286.html" data-href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/blog/article_0ae9979a-2267-11e0-8190-001cc4c03286.html" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">thinks</a> Martin Luther King Day shouldn’t be a holiday, nor should Kwanzaa because “almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa — just white left-wingers who try to shove this down black people’s throats in an effort to divide Americans.” Grothman also doesn’t believe teachers should be allowed to <a href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/health_med_fit/vital_signs/article_f0ca35e4-1737-11df-b146-001cc4c03286.html" data-href="http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/health_med_fit/vital_signs/article_f0ca35e4-1737-11df-b146-001cc4c03286.html" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">mention homosexuality</a> in the classroom, doesn’t believe workers should have a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/01/05/3120741/grothman-weekends/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/01/05/3120741/grothman-weekends/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">guaranteed weekend</a>, and argued that <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/24/572971/glenn-grothman-voter-id/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/24/572971/glenn-grothman-voter-id/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">voter ID</a>might help Republicans win a close presidential election.</blockquote><blockquote name="e748" id="e748" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. ALEX MOONEY (R-WV) — A former Maryland state senator who also once ran for the New Hampshire House, Mooney has settled on West Virginia as his new political base. During his stint as state senator, Mooney garnered a virulently anti-gay reputation, warning that LGBT people were attempting to be legally recognized as minorities, according to <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/alex-mooney-west-virginia-maryland" data-href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/alex-mooney-west-virginia-maryland" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">TPM</a>. He also warned that advocates of gay rights were trying to curb free speech. “If you actually speak against the homosexual lifestyle, maybe from the pulpit if you’re a pastor then you’re in trouble,” he <a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/abortion-and-gay-rights-still-high-conservative-agenda#sthash.rLvWQXJQ.dpuf" data-href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/abortion-and-gay-rights-still-high-conservative-agenda#sthash.rLvWQXJQ.dpuf" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">said</a> in 2008.</blockquote><blockquote name="5bff" id="5bff" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px;">REP. KEN BUCK (R-CO) — In 2010, Buck was one of a host of Tea Party Senate candidates, along with Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle, who helped Republicans snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Republicans didn’t make the same mistake this year, ushering in a deal for Buck to run in a conservative House district more suited to his extreme views. Those include the belief that <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2010/10/17/177070/buck-dadt-alcoholism/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2010/10/17/177070/buck-dadt-alcoholism/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.44); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">being gay is a choice</a>, just like being an alcoholic. He also <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/07/22/109075/buck-high-heels/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/07/22/109075/buck-high-heels/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.44); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">declared</a> in 2010 that voters should support him because, unlike his female opponent, “I do not wear high heels.” Finally, despite being a heavy military state with thousands of veterans, Buck once called for <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/09/21/120121/buck-veterans-health/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/09/21/120121/buck-veterans-health/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.44); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">privatizing</a> their health care.</blockquote><blockquote name="8133" id="8133" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. JODY HICE (R-GA) — If Hice had his druthers, the more than 100 women currently elected to Congress better have permission from their husbands to be there. “If the woman’s within the authority of her husband, I don’t see a problem,” he declared in 2004 when <a href="http://onlineathens.com/stories/021504/new_20040215071.shtml" data-href="http://onlineathens.com/stories/021504/new_20040215071.shtml" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">asked</a> about the growing number of women in politics. Unsurprisingly, Hice’s radical views aren’t confined to gender equality. He doesn’t believe Muslims should be <a href="http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/07-17-2011/radio-talk-show-host-warns-global-islamic-agenda" data-href="http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/07-17-2011/radio-talk-show-host-warns-global-islamic-agenda" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">protected</a> by the First Amendment because Islam is “not” a religion, but rather “a totalitarian way of life with a religious component.” He <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/07/23/3463175/georgia-jody-hice/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/07/23/3463175/georgia-jody-hice/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">also believes</a> homosexuality is a choice, states can (unconstitutionally) <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/07/23/3463175/georgia-jody-hice/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/07/23/3463175/georgia-jody-hice/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">nullify federal laws</a> like Obamacare, and the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/07/23/3463175/georgia-jody-hice/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/07/23/3463175/georgia-jody-hice/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">cause of the Civil War</a> is still an open debate.</blockquote><p name="8f38" id="8f38" class="graf graf--p graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 29px 0px 0px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Outgoing:<blockquote name="4409" id="4409" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--p" style="margin: 29px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. STEVE SOUTHERLAND (R-FL) — Southerland was one of just two incumbent Republican congressmen to lose in the general election, and it’s not difficult to see why. Even in the Republican-leaning Florida panhandle, Southerland’s antics were too much. He earned <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/25/2681321/the-n-most-outrageous-things-in-the-washington-post-profile-of-the-congressman-who-wants-to-kill-food-stamps/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/25/2681321/the-n-most-outrageous-things-in-the-washington-post-profile-of-the-congressman-who-wants-to-kill-food-stamps/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">notoriety</a> for his tireless crusade against food stamps, in which he sought to cut billions from assistance for poor people. Southerland also grabbed headlines for hosting a <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/war-women-goper-steve-southerland-gwen-graham" data-href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/war-women-goper-steve-southerland-gwen-graham" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">men-only fundraiser</a>for his campaign.</blockquote><blockquote name="d945" id="d945" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. STEVE STOCKMAN (R-TX) — Stockman is leaving Congress following his unsuccessful primary bid against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). His decision to bring Ted Nugent, who once <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/02/11/1571751/texas-congressman-invites-ted-nugent-who-threatened-the-presidents-life-to-the-state-of-the-union/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/02/11/1571751/texas-congressman-invites-ted-nugent-who-threatened-the-presidents-life-to-the-state-of-the-union/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">threatened President Obama’s life</a>, to the 2013 State of the Union is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his outrageous comments and actions. Some of the craziest include a campaign <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/12/1860101/gop-congressman-if-babies-had-guns-they-wouldnt-be-aborted/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/12/1860101/gop-congressman-if-babies-had-guns-they-wouldnt-be-aborted/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">bumper sticker</a>that read “If babies had guns, they wouldn’t be aborted”, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/12/10/3041781/stockman-senate-bid/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/12/10/3041781/stockman-senate-bid/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">raffling off</a> an AR-15 assault rifle shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting (during which time he also threatened to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/12/10/3041781/stockman-senate-bid/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/12/10/3041781/stockman-senate-bid/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">impeach</a> Obama), and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/03/18/1736201/gop-lawmaker-mocks-lgbt-protections-in-vawa-change-gender-how-is-that-a-woman/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/03/18/1736201/gop-lawmaker-mocks-lgbt-protections-in-vawa-change-gender-how-is-that-a-woman/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">mocking</a> transgendered people as “change gender” and “that.”</blockquote><blockquote name="4c5d" id="4c5d" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN) </blockquote><blockquote name="4c5d" id="4c5d" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Beat? by?</blockquote><blockquote name="4c5d" id="4c5d" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">— Bachmann, a perennial Tea Party favorite, chose not to run for re-election this year. She earned a highly-controversial reputation during her stint in Congress, leading an <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/michele-bachmann-huma-abedin-muslim_n_1680083.html" data-href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/michele-bachmann-huma-abedin-muslim_n_1680083.html" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">anti-Muslim witch hunt</a> that even unfairly targeted a top State Department official, propagating the <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/michele-bachmann-still-linking-obamacare-to-death-panels/" data-href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/michele-bachmann-still-linking-obamacare-to-death-panels/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">false notion</a> that Obamacare includes “death panels,” running a counseling center with her husband that <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/09/19/322113/bachmann-makes-light-of-ex-gay-therapy-endorsement-pray-away-the-grey-that%E2%80%99s-what-i-thought-it-was/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/09/19/322113/bachmann-makes-light-of-ex-gay-therapy-endorsement-pray-away-the-grey-that%E2%80%99s-what-i-thought-it-was/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">utilized</a> “ex-gay therapy,” and signing a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/07/08/263680/bachmann-hates-first-amendment/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/07/08/263680/bachmann-hates-first-amendment/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">pledge</a> to ban all pornography.</blockquote><blockquote name="79bc" id="79bc" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. JOHN BARROW (D-GA) — Barrow, the last white Democrat from the Deep South, relished playing a Joe Lieberman-esque role among House Democrats, frequently giving bipartisan cover for conservative causes. For example, he insinuated in a 2012 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvR5qTUOTuY" data-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvR5qTUOTuY" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">campaign ad</a> that liberals were going to come and take people’s guns away. He also spearheaded an <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/24/432178/fourteen-house-democrats-anti-climate-letter/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/24/432178/fourteen-house-democrats-anti-climate-letter/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">effort</a> to prevent action that would curb the coal industry’s ability to emit greenhouse gasses without limits. Barrow was the <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/2013-vote-ratings" data-href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/2013-vote-ratings" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">most conservative Democrat</a> in Congress, voting with Republican leaders on approximately <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-loneliest-man-in-congress-2014-10" data-href="http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-loneliest-man-in-congress-2014-10" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">half</a> of all bills.</blockquote><blockquote name="cbca" id="cbca" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. PAUL BROUN (R-GA) — Broun departs Congress after losing Georgia’s crowded Republican Senate primary, though not without leaving quite the legacy. Less than a week after the 2008 election, Broun <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2008Nov10/0,4675,CongressmanObamaMarxist,00.html" data-href="http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2008Nov10/0,4675,CongressmanObamaMarxist,00.html" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">said</a> that he was afraid that Obama would create a Marxist dictatorship. He also <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/06/07/2122671/gop-senate-candidate-compares-the-irs-to-al-qaeda/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/06/07/2122671/gop-senate-candidate-compares-the-irs-to-al-qaeda/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">compared</a> the IRS to al-Qaeda, wanted to defund the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/10/482210/rep-paul-broun-tries-to-defund-voting-rights-act/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/10/482210/rep-paul-broun-tries-to-defund-voting-rights-act/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">Voting Rights Act</a>, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/04/06/156235/paul-broun-npr-unconstitutional/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/04/06/156235/paul-broun-npr-unconstitutional/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">NPR</a>, the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/23/168626/broun-debt-limit-education-energy-departments/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/23/168626/broun-debt-limit-education-energy-departments/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">Department of Education</a>, and the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/23/168626/broun-debt-limit-education-energy-departments/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/05/23/168626/broun-debt-limit-education-energy-departments/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">Department of Energy</a>, and was one of a small handful of Republicans who <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/27/1649381/nine-republican-men-against-vawa/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/27/1649381/nine-republican-men-against-vawa/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">refused</a> to consider any version of the Violence Against Women Act. Broun also <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/02/11/3278881/paul-broun-biblical-principles/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/02/11/3278881/paul-broun-biblical-principles/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">said</a> he would only consider legislation that fits “Judeo-Christian Biblical principles,” <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/07/nation/la-na-nn-paul-broun-evolution-hell-20121007" data-href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/07/nation/la-na-nn-paul-broun-evolution-hell-20121007" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">called</a> evolution and the Big Bang Theory “lies straight from the pit of hell,” and came out as a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/03/05/85259/paul-broun-goes-birther/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/03/05/85259/paul-broun-goes-birther/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">birther</a>.</blockquote><blockquote name="ee48" id="ee48" class="graf graf--blockquote graf-after--blockquote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px -23px; border-left: 3px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); padding-left: 20px; padding-bottom: 2px; --baseline-multiplier:0.179; line-height: 1.58; letter-spacing: -0.003em; padding-top: 27px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">REP. PHIL GINGREY (R-GA) — Like Broun, Gingrey ran for, and lost, the Republican Senate nomination. Gingrey will be remembered for a number of controversies, including <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/11/1435671/republican-congressman-backs-akins-legitimate-rape-comments-hes-partly-right/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/11/1435671/republican-congressman-backs-akins-legitimate-rape-comments-hes-partly-right/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">defending</a> former Rep. Todd Akin’s (R-MO) infamous “legitimate rape” comments, calling them “partly right,” dismissing pre-existing medical conditions as nothing more than “hang nails and fever blisters,” and <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/04/26/471566/phil-gingrey-african-americans-for-obama/" data-href="http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/04/26/471566/phil-gingrey-african-americans-for-obama/" class="markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.439216); background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6) 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 50%); background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 2px 0.1em; background-position: 0px 1.07em;">denouncing</a> the very concept of reaching out to minority voters as “worse than sad.”</blockquote>==

post mortems:

https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/

<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/">https://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/</a>

=hope2. Running Clean Works: NRDC Action Fund <a href="http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/runningclean/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; line-height: 25.2px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">research</a> has confirmed that candidates who campaign on clean energy and climate action from the beginning win—including Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in 2012 to Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) in 2014. Clean energy provides a positive, solutions-based narrative to talk about issues that matter most to Americans: jobs, the economy and the health of their families.<h4 class="yiv0120482407null" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1440259192294_5568" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Are Lessons from the 2014 Election Forgotten as the 2016 Campaigns Begin?</h4> The 2014 midterms were marked by the lowest turnout since WWII and the most money spent – $3.8 billion. A deeper dive beneath the numbers revealed additional signs of trouble, as detailed in our recent report's "Five Facts You Didn’t Want to Know” sidebar. Check out the report <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://opensecrets.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aa7cf182bf7041258bb250f9d&id=19a1e5713f&e=44dfb36771" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1440259192294_5562" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">here</a>.http://assets.opensecrets.org/downloads/2015_donor_report.pdfThe Five Facts You Didn’t Want to

Know About the 2014 Midterms 1. The Political 1% of the 1% – just 31,976

Americans – gave $1.2 billion, or 29%

of all disclosed spending in the 2014

cycle, up from 25% in 2012 and 21%

in 2010 (see Chart 1), and such major

donors are now able to give even larger

amounts of money; 2. Outside spending, excluding the parties,

rose 82% from 2010 to 2014, to $565

million, and such spending dominated

many of the key congressional races

(see Chart 2), whereas candidates were

responsible for just 41% of the political

money spent in 2014; 3. The number of donors to candidates in

2014 dropped 20% from the last midterm

in 2010, while spending continued to rise

(see Chart 3); 4. Dark money has grown dramatically,

rising from $5 million in 2006 to $174

million in 2014 (after ballooning to more

than $300 million in 2012, a presidential

election year); and 5. Not only have dark money totals

been rising, but for the first time, in

2014, single-candidate dark-money

organizations became part of the

equation.NAMELY?==

<a href="https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/10/14/political-ad-watch-48-new-commercials-in-one-day/">https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/10/14/political-ad-watch-48-new-commercials-in-one-day/</a>

links

Its not your imagination: Three weeks before election day, the political air wars are heating up. Here at the Sunlight Foundation, where we track ad spots by politically active committees for our AdHawk mobile app, we counted 48 new ones on Tuesday alone.

By far the majority are attack ads by outside groups; their placement gives a good hint about where the political "smart money" sees the nation's most truly competitive races in the homestretch of campaign 2014. Some of the highlights.

Statewide races

In South Dakota, where a four-way Senate race merited front-page coverage in Tuesday's New York Times, there's an effort underway to shore up beleaguered Republican frontrunner Mike Rounds, the state's former governor. The American Chemistry Council, whose extensive political efforts we've catalogued in this space, has produced a pro-Rounds ad. And while Rounds refuses to run negative ads, that's not stopping the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has produced a spot attacking his two top opponents, Democrat Rick Weiland and former Sen. Larry Pressler, a Republican-turned-independent.

In Kansas, another state where a multi-candidate race is making Republicans nervous, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is attacking independent Greg Orman as a closet Democrat, citing, among other things his refusal to endorse the Keystone XL pipeline or speak out against the President Barack Obama's health care law.

The National Rifle Association is wading into gubernatorial races, posting ads calling for the defeat of Democrat Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire and the reelection of Republican Gov. Nathan Deal in Georgia. That's on top of an ad the NRA posted on Monday attacking Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, D, who is running for a second term.

Keeping up the negative drumbeat, the National Republican Senatorial Committee released ads Tuesday attacking two of the nation's most vulnerable Democratic senators, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Udall of Colorado, as well as Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democrat vying to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

Political heavyweight American Crossroads adapted the much-commented upon spelling bee ad it used against Pryor in Arkansas to target Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampsire on top of a new message targeting Sen. Mark Begich, D, in Alaska. Meanwhile, dark money partner Crossroads GPS goes after Sen. Mary Landrieu, D, in Louisiana.

AFSCME, the public employees' union, fired back with new negative ads slamming Republican Senate candidates in Colorado, Iowa and North Carolina.

House Races

In Maine, the Tea Party-aligned FreedomWorks unveiled a spot touting Bruce Poliquin a Republican running in the state's 2nd Congressional District, and another painting his Democratic opponent, Emily Cain, as a far-left Obama devotee.

The Democratic House Majority PAC, meanwhile, issued ads attacking Republican congressional candidates in California's 7th Congressional District, New York's 18th Congressional District.

American Action Network and its affiliated super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, answered back with ads attacking Democrats in California 7th one of that state's most competitive contests and Rep. Ron Barber, D, in Arizona's Second District, a swathe of land on the Mexican border that Stuart Rothenburg calls a pure toss-up.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, the AAN's super PAC, unleashed new spots in a trio of House races: Opposing congressional hopeful John Foust in Va., and incumbent Reps. Scott Peters in California and Brad Schneider in Illinois.

On a positive note

That's not to say it's been entirely attack and burn in the political ad world. The pro-gay rights GOP group American Unity PAC is running positive spots on behalf of GOP congressmen Chris Gibson in NY-19 and Frank LoBiondo in NJ-02. Meanwhile the United Mine Workers PAC just released a pro-Allison Lundergan Grimes ad in Kentucky, where coal is always near the top of the agenda and the House Majority PAC, headed by a former DCCC operative, has just put out a glowing review of Rep. Kyrsten Synema, D-Ariz., and her "eagerness to work across the aisle to promote Arizona issues.

===

mark h nation

The first order of business for the new GOP majorities in both houses of Congress is to dismantle as much of President Obama’s agenda as possible—starting with <a class="mandelbrot_refrag" href="http://www.thenation.com/section/climate-change?lc=int_mb_1001" data-ls-seen="1">climate change</a>. This is not mere speculation: the first two items prospective Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell cited to reporters the day after the elections were authorization of the Keystone XL pipeline and rollback of the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently announced but not yet implemented rules on carbon dioxide emissions. Then, reacting to Obama’s November 11 announcement of a genuinely historic climate accord with China—for the first time, China agreed to an absolute limit on its emissions (by 2030), while the United States pledged to accelerate its own reductions through 2025—McConnell attacked the deal as an “unrealistic” job killer.

Such polluter-friendly priorities come as no surprise from a party swept into power on a wave of oil and coal industry campaign money, including Koch brothers cash—much of it “dark money” and thus untraceable. Now, the GOP’s Senate victory will hand the reins of the Environment and Public Works Committee to Capitol Hill’s leading climate denier, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, author of The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future. The absurdity might be laughable if the future of the planet weren’t at stake.

Nonetheless, there is a pale silver lining. The Republicans’ newly extended reach may still exceed their grasp, at least on climate issues. The most astute analysis of the new landscape on Capitol Hill, by Nick Juliano of Greenwire, rightly concentrates on the Senate. In the past four years, the GOP-controlled House has passed numerous bills to restrict federal action on climate change—in May, it voted to forbid the Defense Department to spend money on any climate-related initiatives—but such measures typically died in the Democratic Senate. The midterm elections gave Republicans at least seven and perhaps as many as nine new senators (pending a recount in Alaska and a runoff in Louisiana). Nevertheless, Juliano says, “Republicans do not appear to have flipped enough seats to undo most of President Obama’s environment and climate change agenda.” That’s partly because Democrats began with a sizable Senate majority, and partly because some ousted Democrats, such as Mark Pryor of Arkansas, already voted with Republicans on climate issues. “Republicans likely have between 55 and 59 votes to block action on climate change based on seats that flipped this year,” concludes Juliano.

Thus Republicans remain one to five votes short of the sixty needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster and an additional seven short of the sixty-seven needed to override a presidential veto. This means that Keystone is still Obama’s call. Given his years of equivocation on the issue, this may strike some as cold comfort; his most recent statement on the pipeline—“I’m going to let that process play out”—carefully kept all his options open. But Obama has no credible dodge on Keystone; it remains his decision to make.

Where the GOP Senate has greater leverage is in its power of the purse. If the Republicans attach to a must-pass budget bill a rider prohibiting the executive branch from spending funds to implement the EPA’s carbon regulations, say, or to send diplomats to the Paris climate summit in 2015, Democrats and the president will face a choice: filibuster or veto such a bill and stand accused of being willing to shut down the government, or cave and let Republicans have their way.

In short, the coming GOP assaults can be repelled if—admittedly, not a small “if ”—Democrats unite and fight back. But climate change, unlike other issues, comes with a time limit. Wait too long to get it right and you can’t get it right; global warming keeps accelerating, and a dangerously overheated planet becomes all but unavoidable. Two days before the US elections, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that “serious, pervasive and irreversible” impacts await humanity unless greenhouse gas emissions are slashed and carbon-based fuels phased out almost entirely by 2100.

Obama’s policies make a modest contribution to meeting this timetable, but they are far from sufficient, as his top climate adviser, John Podesta, has acknowledged. The tragedy of the 2014 elections is that debate in Washington over the next two years is likely to focus only on whether to keep or kill Obama’s existing climate policies. Those policies actually need to be expanded as rapidly as possible. The US-China climate deal is a gigantic political development, not enough scientifically yet but the necessary breakthrough to getting there, starting at Paris in 2015.

To defeat the Republican onslaught, the coming fights over climate policy must be made as public as possible. American voters generally don’t like it when politicians attack clean air, and the 2016 elections are already on the minds of every politician in Washington. “Twenty-four Republican [Senate candidates] will have to face the voters in 2016, many of them in states like Florida, Illinois and Iowa where there are big Democratic electorates and strong bipartisan support for clean energy,” says Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “It’s going to be hard for senators in those states to take votes to cut EPA authority. And we’re going to make it hard.”

<div class="views-field-value byline"><a href="http://www.thenation.com/authors/mark-hertsgaard">Mark Hertsgaard</a>   THE NATION</div>

===

cmd

<h2 style="border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25;">The Koch Party</h2>

The Koch's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" target="blank" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>, a nonprofit dark money group that does not disclose its donors, is reported to have spent some $77 million on competitive Senate and House races, <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/the-koch-network-spent-100-million-this-election-cycle-20141104" target="blank" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">says a spokesman</a>. The Koch's new <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Freedom_Partners" target="_blank" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Freedom Partners</a> Action Fund, a super PAC that discloses some of its donors, spent some $25 million. Not all Koch candidates won their races, but the Koch were ranked big winners in the Sunlight Foundations post-election<a href="http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/11/05/roi-2014s-comeback-kids-crossroads-chamber/" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> "return on investment"</a> analysis.

This $100 million does not count all the Koch-tied groups, their personal contributions or all contributions of the Koch network of funders which may top the $300 million<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/an-expanding-koch-network-aims-to-spend-300-million-to-shape-senate-fight-and-2016/2014/06/18/d42877ec-f703-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html" target="_blank" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> Washington Post estima</a>te. As a point of comparison, the DNC and the RNC combined spent $300 million this election cycle.

Koch bucks purchased over <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/09/04/one-out-of-every-10-ads-run-in-the-2014-election-have-ties-to-the-koch-brothers/" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">44,000 TV ads</a> (and that was an early count). <a href="http://americansforprosperity.org/florida/newsroom/charlie-crist-wants-you-to-have-higher-utility-bills/" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Americans for Prosperity told</a> Floridians that Charlie Christ was for renewable energy (gasp!), not because it created jobs, reduced pollution and protected the beautiful Florida environment, but because Christ wanted to hike people's utility bills.

And the Kochs purchased a ground game that puts the Chicago machine to shame. "In many places, [AFP] has more trained and paid operatives than the traditional political parties have. Nowhere is this more obvious than Florida, where the group has 10 offices, its single largest field operation," reports Salon.

In the hotly contested North Carolina Senate race between Kay Hagan and ALEC stalwart Thom Tillis, AFP "had 45 paid staffers who knocked on 186,000 doors and made at least 1 million phone calls," <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/10/29/for-planned-parenthood-votes-and-americans-for-prosperity-in-n-c-its-all-about-the-ground-game/" target="_blank" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">says the Washington Post</a>.

The Kochs are not your average oligarchs, they are a political party.

<h2 style=" border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25;">The Koch Platform</h2>

The Koch Party platform was not determined at any founding convention by a vote of average Americans. It was drafted behind closed doors at the <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" target="_blank" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC) by some of the world's most powerful lobbyists representing Exxon Mobile, Peabody Energy, and other major polluters.

- See more at: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/11/12662/koch-party-wins-big-planet-peril#sthash.lWCJHXIi.dpuf

2014 yay

<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/11/12661/richmond-voters-beat-chevrons-corporate-coup-d-etat">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/11/12661/richmond-voters-beat-chevrons-corporate-coup-d-etat</a>

In Richmond, CA, three seats on the City Council were up for election; the city also stood to elect a new mayor. Nothing unusual in this, perhaps, was it not for Chevron's <a href="http://richmondconfidential.org/2014/11/04/will-chevrons-3-million-bid-for-richmond-succeed/" target="hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">$3.1 million dollar</a> campaign to highjack the elections, which was first revealed by journalism student and former <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/" target="hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Center for Media and Democracy</a> reporter, Harriet Rowan in the Berkeley publication <a href="http://richmondconfidential.org/2014/10/10/3-million-in-chevrons-moving-forward-war-chest/" target="_hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Richmond Confidential.</a>

Through different <a href="http://richmondconfidential.org/2014/10/10/3-million-in-chevrons-moving-forward-war-chest/" target="_hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">independent expenditure groups</a>, the energy behemoth launched an ad blitz targeting progressive candidates, including billboards, TV, radio and even talking door literature. At the ballot box, however, Richmond voters proved that democracy can triumph over corporate cash. Despite being outspent 20-to-1, the three Green Party and Democrat candidates targeted in Chevron's smear campaigns -- Jovanka Beckles, Eduardo Martinez, and outgoing mayor Gayle McLaughlin -- were all elected to City Council. In a further rejection of Chevron's agenda, Tom Butt, who as a council member had taken a hard line against the company, was elected mayor.

"I think this election is a great example that money isn't always the deciding factor, and that it is possible for grassroots organizing on the ground to defeat big money," says Rowan.

<h2 style=" border: 0px; margin: 1em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.25;">Chevron's Rap Sheet</h2>

Last year, the city filed a lawsuit against the company following a disastrous fire in August of 2012 at its Richmond refinery that sent 15,000 people to the hospital over the weeks that followed, and also caused property values to drop dramatically. "It's [not about the money, it's] wanting to have some assurance that Chevron has taken the lessons learned to heart and that they have changed their culture of safety," Tom Butt said at the time.

The fire was not an isolated incident. In fact, Chevron has a long and troubled history in Richmond where "<a href="http://www.corp-research.org/chevron" target="_hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">some of the company's worst sins have taken place</a>," says Good Jobs First, nonprofit research group promoting corporate and government accountability. The Chevron rap sheet includes a 1989 refinery fire that left three workers severely burned, a $540,000 fine imposed by EPA for polluting the San Pablo Bay, and attempts to bypass monitoring equipment and release pollutants into the air that drew a federal investigation in 2012.

In the 1990s Chevron had a desk in the city managers office. For a long time, Richmond City Council members, colloquially known as "The Chevron Five," consistently voted for Big Oil interests. The era of corporate deference came to an end in 2008 when three of them were voted out of office, and progressives gained control of City Hall. Since then, and in the wake of Citizens United, the company has ramped up its efforts to hand pick rubber stamp politicians.

In 2012, a political action committee calling itself Moving Forward - allegedly a "coalition of labor unions, small businesses, public safety and firefighters associations" - poured <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21726521/chevron-spends-big-richmond-elections" target="_hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">$1.2 million</a> into the City Council elections. All the money, however, came from Chevron. This time round, the company upped the ante threefold, but to no avail as voters saw corporate spin for what it was. Incidentally, Nat Bates, whom Moving Forward endorsed for mayor, was part of the infamous Chevron quintet.

This weekend, former Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Harriet Rowan will be on Bill Moyers & Company to discuss Chevron's assault on democracy. Check <a href="http://billmoyers.com/schedule/" target="_hplink" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">your local listings</a>. You can also <a href="http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-facing-corporate-greed/" style=" border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">watch the show online.</a>

- See more at: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/11/12661/richmond-voters-beat-chevrons-corporate-coup-d-etat#sthash.V9HGcpp4.dpuf

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<div class="byline economy"><a href="http://alternet.org/">AlterNet</a> [1] / By <a href="http://www.alternet.org/authors/janet-allon">Janet Allon</a> [2]</div>

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<h1 property="dc:title" datatype="" class="node-title">Paul Krugman Divulges the Real Reason Why the 'Wrong About Everything' Party Won</h1></div><div class="the_body body_economy clearfix"><div class="big_story_tools_bottom_container"><div class="authors_signup">

<div class="story-date">November 7, 2014  |  </div>

"Politics determines who has power, not who has the truth," Paul Krugman says in his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/opinion/paul-krugman-triumph-of-the-wrong.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0">Friday column. T</a> [3]hat is his summing up of the midterm election results this week which delivered a huge win to Republicans. "Still, it’s not often that a party that is so wrong about so much does as well as Republicans did on Tuesday."

Just to review, the Republicans have been demonstrably wrong on the following issues, Krugman writes.

First, there’s economic policy. According to conservative dogma, which denounces any regulation of the sacred pursuit of profit, the financial crisis of 2008 — brought on by runaway financial institutions — shouldn’t have been possible. But Republicans chose not to rethink their views even slightly. <a href="http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/11/examining-the-big-lie-how-the-facts-of-the-economic-crisis-stack-up/">They invented an imaginary history</a> [4] in which the government was somehow responsible for the irresponsibility of private lenders, while fighting any and all policies that might limit the damage. In 2009, when an ailing economy desperately needed aid, John Boehner, soon to become the speaker of the House, declared: “<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boehner-government-needs-to-tighten-its-belt/">It’s time for government to tighten their belts</a> [5].”

</blockquote>

Time has proven all of this wrong. And cutting taxes on the rich to drive economic growth has not worked either. Just ask Kansas.

Not that any of this real life evidence has gotten any Republicans we know of to admit they were wrong.

Second on Krugman's list of Republican wrongheadedness is health reform. Everything Republicans said would happen did not happen, including low enrollment, loss of coverage and skyrocketing costs. Reality stubbornly refused to deliver on all these hysterical and disingenuous predictions. More people than ever have insurance and health spending is down.

The biggest lie of them all is climate change. The Republicans are now a party of climate denialists, who claim that it's all a left-wing hoax concocted by, what, stunt scientists? A mere six years ago this was not so, Krugman points out. "Senator John McCain <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/us/politics/12cnd-mccain.html" style="">proposed a cap-and-trade system similar to Democratic proposals</a> [6]." Not going to happen anymore. This is devastating, and is likely to push us past the point of no return in terms of the damage that will be wrought on the Earth.

Time for Krugman's analysis of why voters would give this group such a victory. It's not pretty, and none too flattering to voters.

Part of the answer is that leading Republicans managed to mask their true positions. Perhaps most notably, Senator Mitch McConnell, the incoming majority leader, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/10/16/mitch-mcconnells-puzzling-claims-on-insurance-in-kentucky-post-obamacare/">managed to convey the completely false impression that Kentucky</a> [7] could retain its impressive gains in health coverage even if Obamacare were repealed.

But the biggest secret of the Republican triumph surely lies in the discovery that obstructionism bordering on sabotage is a winning political strategy. From Day 1 of the Obama administration, Mr. McConnell and his colleagues have done everything they could to undermine effective policy, in particular blocking every effort to do the obvious thing — boost infrastructure spending — in a time of low interest rates and high unemployment.

</blockquote>

What was bad for America, proved to be good for Republicans. Voters did not get that it was the dysfunctional legislative process that was failing them, they just punished the sitting president for the failure to deliver prosperity.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

</div>

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<div class="print-source_url" style="text-align: left;">Source URL: <a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/paul-krugman-divulges-real-reason-why-wrong-about-everything-party-won">http://www.alternet.org/economy/paul-krugman-divulges-real-reason-why-wrong-about-everything-party-won</a></div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">Links:</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[1] http://alternet.org</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/janet-allon</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[3] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/opinion/paul-krugman-triumph-of-the-wrong.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region®ion=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[4] http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/11/examining-the-big-lie-how-the-facts-of-the-economic-crisis-stack-up/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[5] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boehner-government-needs-to-tighten-its-belt/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/us/politics/12cnd-mccain.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[7] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/10/16/mitch-mcconnells-puzzling-claims-on-insurance-in-kentucky-post-obamacare/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[8] mailto:corrections@alternet.org?Subject=Typo on Paul Krugman Divulges the Real Reason Why the 'Wrong About Everything' Party Won</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[9] http://www.alternet.org/tags/midterm-elections</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[10] http://www.alternet.org/tags/mitch-mcconnell</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[11] http://www.alternet.org/tags/john-mccain</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[12] http://www.alternet.org/tags/obamacare-0</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[13] http://www.alternet.org/tags/republican-obstructionism-0</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[14] http://www.alternet.org/tags/paul-ryan-0</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[15] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B</div>

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==

<div class="byline activism" style=" text-align: left;"><a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/">Waging Nonviolence</a> [1] / By <a href="http://www.alternet.org/authors/kate-aronoff">Kate Aronoff</a> [2]</div>

</div>

<h1 property="dc:title" datatype="" class="node-title" style=" text-align: left;">What the Midterms Mean for the Climate Movement</h1></div><div class="the_body body_activism clearfix"><div class="big_story_tools_bottom_container"><div class="authors_signup">

<div class="story-date" style=" text-align: left;">November 8, 2014  |  </div>

The following was <a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/2014/11/midterms-mean-climate-movement/">originally published</a> [3] on Waging Nonviolence.

The 2014 midterm elections weren’t all bad news for the climate movement. There are certainly a few things to be happy about: Denton, the Texas city where fracking was practically invented, passed an unprecedented ban <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/05/361732151/voters-in-texas-city-approve-ban-on-fracking">barring the practice</a> [4] within city limits. In Richmond, Calif., the home of one of the country’s largest oil refineries,<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/05/voters-reject-oil-titan-chevron-elect-progressive-bloc-richmond-california">progressive candidates</a> [5] for local office won despite Chevron pouring some $3 million into the election. In other progressive arenas, voters moved to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/04/politics/marijuana-2014/index.html">legalize marijuana</a> [6] in Alaska, Oregon and the nation’s capital, and pass <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/minimum-wage-by-state_n_6110204.html">minimum wage hikes</a> [7] in a number of other cities and states. These are victories that can and should be celebrated.

All that said, there needs to be some real talk about what the results of Tuesday’s elections mean for climate organizers, especially in light of last week’s<a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_LONGERREPORT.pdf">Intergovernmental Panel  on Climate Change report</a> [8], which said that emissions need to fall <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/4/7158551/climate-change-was-barely-a-factor-in-the-2014-elections-and-thats-a">42 to 71 percent below 2010 levels</a> [9] in order to prevent “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.” The threat that Tuesday’s election results pose to the movement is even more bleak than Congressional <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/11/4/7158551/climate-change-was-barely-a-factor-in-the-2014-elections-and-thats-a">gridlock</a> [9], which — unfortunately — is nothing new in Washington. The 2013-2014, or 113th, Congress is on track to be <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/congress-track-be-least-productive-modern-history-n169546">history’s least productive</a> [10]: just 185 bills became law this session. In other words, it’s not as if the midterms wiped some miracle climate legislation off the table.

Newly re-elected Kentucky Congressman Mitch McConnell — who will now become Senate Majority Leader — has pledged both <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/03/us-usa-elections-energy-senate-factbox-idUSKBN0IN26W20141103" style="">formally</a> [11] and <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/181363/caught-tape-what-mitch-mcconnell-complained-about-roomful-billionaires-exclusive" style="">informally</a> [12] to gut the Environmental Protection Agency. Other GOP winners in hotly contested senate races vowed to do the same. In Iowa, Republican Joni Ernst wants the department eliminated flat out, stating <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/joni-ernst-bruce-braley-clash-over-epa-in-debate-111810.html">in a debate</a> [13] with opponent Bruce Braley, “I do believe our states know best how to protect their natural resources.” Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, a former commissioner with the Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources, said that he’ll challenge the EPA and federal mine permitting process on the grounds of promoting economic growth.

<a href="http://elections.nytimes.com/2014/liveblog?post=343-exit-polls-partisan-divide-on-climate-change-4878&smid=tw-nytpolitics">Exit polls</a> [14] collected by the New York Times found that, overall, just 15 percent of voting Republicans believe that climate change is a “serious issue.” To top that off, climate denier and Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe will now become <a href="http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/26775-climate-change-denier-james-inhofe-to-lead-environment-committee">chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.</a> [15] Inhofe <a href="http://www.epw.senate.gov/speechitem.cfm?party=rep&id=230594">suggested</a> [16] in 2003 that global warming might actually benefit Americans’ quality of life. As recently as 2012, he<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/inhofe-refutes-climate-science-scri">argued that-</a> [17] the “arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what [God] is doing in the climate is, to me, outrageous.”

This round of midterms further demonstrated how intertwined the climate is with issues of economic and racial justice. Scott Walker and Rick Snyder were each re-elected as governor in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively. Both made headlines in the past several years pushing through “right to work” mandates, which all but dismantled organizing infrastructure for public sector unions. Betsy Woodruff <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/11/scott_walker_s_re_election_as_wisconsin_s_governor_why_republicans_think.html">wrote</a> [18]for Slate that Walker’s re-election was one of the country’s most important for the GOP, which — aside from grooming him for a 2016 presidential run — hopes that Walker’s risky attack on organized labor can serve as a model for other conservative governors. If there’s any hope of making good, green jobs a reality, a national political environment hostile to unions will make that process even harder.

In ways that might be unexpected, voter suppression, too, has become a climate issue.Al Jazeera <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/11/2/nonwhite-climatevoters.html">reported</a> [19] earlier this week that climate is a high-priority issue for voters of color, in no small part because communities of color have been some of the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change and extraction. Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight.com found that non-white voters were almost <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-racial-gap-on-global-warming/">twice as likely</a> [20] to see climate change as a “top priority,” skewing traditional perceptions of climate as a white issue. Unfortunately, voters of color, who tend to vote for Democrats, are also those most likely to face challenges getting to the polls. The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/voting-rights-act-supreme-court_n_3429810.html">Supreme Court’s repeal</a> [21] of Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 last summer opened the floodgates for even more brash gerrymandering and <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120132/midterm-voter-suppression-election-protection-hotline-swamped">voter suppression</a> [22] by conservatives <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/4/new_voter_suppression_laws_could_decide">this election cycle.</a> [23]

So what could all this mean for organizers? The climate movement should be thinking at least as strategically as its opponents, who’ve managed to build a massive base and consolidate power at the highest reaches of government. Poking fun at climate deniers’ religion and folksy accents hasn’t won the movement many friends over the years. Republicans wield real power, and confronting that will mean building a popular movement capable of challenging austerity, extraction and privatization — among other forces — in the court of public opinion.

If the last six years are any indication, resolving to transform the economy deeply enough to avert the worst of the climate crisis isn’t likely to come singly from either the Oval Office or the ballot box. The climate movement needs an “all of the above” organizing strategy to match the country’s reckless energy policy: Engage with electoral politics, sure, but build with people in schools, in churches, in workplaces, in the media and in the streets. As law professor and former New York gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/09/09/the_left_makes_its_voice_heard_how_zephyr_teachouts_reminding_andrew_cuomo_there_are_liberal_democrats/">said recently</a> [24], “Don’t leave power on the table.”

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">See more stories tagged with:</div>

<div class="field-item even" style=" text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-movement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">climate movement</a> [26],</div>

<div class="field-item odd" style=" text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-change" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">climate change</a> [27],</div>

<div class="field-item even" style=" text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/tags/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">midterm elections</a> [28]</div>

</div>

<div class="print-source_url" style="text-align: left;">Source URL: <a href="http://www.alternet.org/activism/what-midterms-mean-climate-movement">http://www.alternet.org/activism/what-midterms-mean-climate-movement</a></div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">Links:</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[1] http://wagingnonviolence.org/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/kate-aronoff</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[3] http://wagingnonviolence.org/2014/11/midterms-mean-climate-movement/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[4] http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/05/361732151/voters-in-texas-city-approve-ban-on-fracking</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[5] http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/05/voters-reject-oil-titan-chevron-elect-progressive-bloc-richmond-california</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[6] http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/04/politics/marijuana-2014/index.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[7] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/minimum-wage-by-state_n_6110204.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[8] http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_LONGERREPORT.pdf</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[9] http://www.vox.com/2014/11/4/7158551/climate-change-was-barely-a-factor-in-the-2014-elections-and-thats-a</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[10] http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/congress-track-be-least-productive-modern-history-n169546</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[11] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/03/us-usa-elections-energy-senate-factbox-idUSKBN0IN26W20141103</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[12] http://www.thenation.com/article/181363/caught-tape-what-mitch-mcconnell-complained-about-roomful-billionaires-exclusive</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[13] http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/joni-ernst-bruce-braley-clash-over-epa-in-debate-111810.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[14] http://elections.nytimes.com/2014/liveblog?post=343-exit-polls-partisan-divide-on-climate-change-4878&smid=tw-nytpolitics</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[15] http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/26775-climate-change-denier-james-inhofe-to-lead-environment-committee</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[16] http://www.epw.senate.gov/speechitem.cfm?party=rep&id=230594</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[17] http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/inhofe-refutes-climate-science-scri</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[18] http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/11/scott_walker_s_re_election_as_wisconsin_s_governor_why_republicans_think.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[19] http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/11/2/nonwhite-climatevoters.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[20] http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-racial-gap-on-global-warming/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[21] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/voting-rights-act-supreme-court_n_3429810.html</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[22] http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120132/midterm-voter-suppression-election-protection-hotline-swamped</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[23] http://www.democracynow.org/2014/11/4/new_voter_suppression_laws_could_decide</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[24] http://www.salon.com/2014/09/09/the_left_makes_its_voice_heard_how_zephyr_teachouts_reminding_andrew_cuomo_there_are_liberal_democrats/</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[25] mailto:corrections@alternet.org?Subject=Typo on What the Midterms Mean for the Climate Movement</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[26] http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-movement</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[27] http://www.alternet.org/tags/climate-change</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[28] http://www.alternet.org/tags/midterm-elections</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">[29] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B</div>

</div>

==

Here’s some of what GOP leaders have said they would do to America:

<li style=" text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from limiting dangerous <a href="http://ecowatch.com/petition/take-action-end-dirty-energy/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">carbon pollution from power plants</a>—the most important step we can take to curb climate-changing carbon pollution.</li>

<li style=" text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Stop an EPA proposal to restore protections to streams and wetlands that feed into the drinking water supplies of 117 million Americans.</li>

<li style=" text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Prevent the EPA from even proposing new safeguards for smog-causing ozone; scientists have found current standards are too lax, forcing people to breathe air that is unhealthy and even fatal for children and adults with asthma and other lung problems.</li>

<li style=" text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Take away the ability of scientists and experts to set health and environmental standards and give politicians the power to decide what is safe for our families using the so-called REINS Act—a law that would require Congressional approval for every new standard and gut our nation’s time-tested method of review.</li>

</ol>

There are many more: forcing approval of the disastrous <a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/keystone-xl-pipeline-2/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Keystone XL</a> pipeline, opening our coastal waters and the Arctic Refuge to risky oil drilling, blocking federal efforts to protect drinking water from oil and gas “<a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/fracking-2/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">fracking</a>” activity, and opening our national forests to loggers, to name just a few.

These extreme actions would put people and places at risk. They would also endanger an entire system of environmental protection that generations of Americans have relied upon.

Over the past four decades, our nation’s laws have made our air safer to breathe and our water cleaner to drink. Many of these laws were passed with broad bipartisan support and signed by Republican presidents. By calling for a radical overhaul of this tradition, current GOP leaders reveal how out of step they are with Americans. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is willing to work with Republicans who want to move forward on environmental protection, but so far leaders are only taking extreme positions, calling for rollbacks and promoting <a href="http://ecowatch.com/search/?q=climate+denier" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">climate denial</a>.

Republican leader Newt Gingrich overreached in a similar way with his Contract on America. NRDC helped stop him from gutting environmental safeguards, because we mobilized people to raise their voices. We will do the same with the McConnell-Boehner Contract with America. We will call on lawmakers to protect our children’s health and shield future generations from climate change.

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<a class="black-to-green" href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/11/05/fracking-ban-passes/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Fracking Bans Pass in Denton, Texas, Two California Counties and One Ohio Town</a>

===

“Whatever may have driven individual races, the American people want action on climate change,” said Frances Beinecke of the <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>. “They didn’t vote to roll back foundational environmental safeguards for the sake of polluter profits. We will empower the voice of the people. We will defend clean air, safe water, healthy wildlife and fertile lands. And we’ll press for real action to protect future generations from the dangers of climate change.”

Unfortunately, numerous climate-denying or climate-unfriendly governors with different goals retained their jobs, including Rick Scott in Florida, John Kasich in Ohio, Butch Otter in Idaho, Sam Brownback in Kansas and Paul LePage in Maine....

Scott edged out Democrat Charlie Crist, who committed to addressing the severe impacts climate change is having on a state exposed to rising sea levels and intense hurricanes. Scott, with the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity investing heavily in his ground campaign, has refused to meet with <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/16/scientists-florida-rick-scott-climate-change/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">scientists</a> and even <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/08/15/evangelicals-florida-scott-climate-change/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Christian evangelicals</a> concerned about the climate.

In Maine, LePage vetoed a study on preparing the state’s communities and businesses for the impacts of climate change, saying both that it’s not happening and that it’s actually good for Maine.

Kasich, elected in a landslide victory in Ohio, <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/13/ohio-gov-john-kasich-renewable-energy-freeze/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">presided over the freeze</a> on Ohio’s renewable energy standards, which were passed with almost unanimous bipartisan support in 2008. It was the <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/05/28/ohio-renewable-energy-mandate/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">first rollback of clean energy standards in the country</a>, and a bill is currently in the Ohio legislature to repeal them permanently. Kasich, with his massive support from fossil fuel interests, is almost certainly involved in the effort and will sign it, although he prefers to let the legislature take the fall, refusing public comment.

Climate denier senators-elect Cory Gardner in Colorado, Joni Ernst in Iowa, Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Shelly Moore Capito in West Virginia, as well as the reelections of fossil fuel-funded senators like Kentucky’s <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/03/climate-change-deniers-candidates/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Mitch McConnell</a>, gave Republicans a Senate majority. That will make breaking through the gridlock to get any action on climate change infinitely tougher, with McConnell now Senate Majority Leader (assuming he’s not deposed by someone more extreme, like Texas Senator Ted Cruz). With a 7 percent score from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), $3.6 million in contributions from the fossil fuel industry and a crusade against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he’s a dedicated foe of the environment....

New head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee? Oklahoma’s James Inhofe, author of The Greatest Hoax: How The Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.

Gardner defeated staunch environmental ally Mark Udall in a campaign that included millions from Koch Industries and other fossil fuel interests.

“Everything in Colorado has shifted farther to the right toward the oil and gas industry and the climate-change denial funded by millions of dollars from the Koch Brothers,” said Colorado environmental activist <a href="http://ecowatch.com/author/gwockner/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Gary Wockner</a>. “Most notably, Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Udall was swept out of office by Tea Partier Cory Gardner who is a 100 percent voting member of the most anti-environmental U.S. House of Representatives in history and declined to answer climate change questions during the race.”

Iowa’s Joni Ernst, probably the most conservative candidate elected last night, has punted on whether she believes climate change is manmade and boasts of driving an electric car. But she has vowed to work to abolish the EPA and repeal the Clean Water Act saying it was one of the most damaging laws for business. That’s another measure that once had overwhelming bipartisan support and has been a huge success in cleaning up America’s waterways. She replaced the retiring Tom Harkin, a strong pro-environmental vote.

But Beinecke pointed out, “Several senators won by running clean—including Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, Susan Collins in Maine and Senator-elect Gary Peters in Michigan. All are climate champions. Peters took on the Koch brothers and promised Michigan voters he would fight in Congress to protect the Great Lakes from climate change.”

“The election may have changed the political dynamics in Washington, but it doesn’t change the science,” said Mindy Lubber, president of sustainable business group <a href="http://www.ceres.org/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Ceres</a>. “The reality of global warming and the need for urgent action remain an imperative. Business leaders understand this truth. Smart companies are making wise choices about their energy purchases and future operational planning in a carbon-constrained world.”

Another voice for business was Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the <a href="http://www.seia.org/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Solar Energy Industries Association</a> (SEIA), who urged political leaders not to leave solar behind. “It’s critically important for our leaders in Washington, as well as our state capitals, to put aside their differences and work together to find real solutions that will grow our economy and put more people to work,” he said.

“As one of the fastest-growing industries in America, solar is a shining example of how stable, consistent and reliable public policies are paying huge dividends for our economy and environment. As pundits analyze the results of Tuesday’s elections, here is one important mandate to remember: Polls consistently show that 9 out of 10 Americans want to see an expanded use of solar energy nationwide.”

Michael Brune, executive director of the <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sierra Club</a>, was also undeterred. “Despite the climate movement’s significant investments and an unprecedented get out the vote program, strong voices for climate action were defeated and candidates paid for by corporate interests and bolstered by sinister voter suppression tactics won the day,” he said.

“But don’t be fooled. This election marked a pivotal change in how candidates confront the climate crisis. Even the most anti-environmental candidates were compelled to greenwash their voting records and change their tune on climate denial. The climate on climate is changing. A Congress elected by corporate polluters may think it can force a polluter agenda on this country. But public support is solidly behind action to tackle the climate crisis. There is a growing movement of climate and clean energy voters that will be standing up to polluters and their political allies every step of the way.”

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<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/03/climate-change-deniers-candidates/2/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Top 20 ‘Dirty Denier$’ Who Accept Big Bucks from Big Polluters</a>

<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/07/29/climate-denial-koch-brothers/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Climate Denial Machine Fueled By Big Oil and Koch Brothers Impacts Congressional Races</a>

<a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/11/03/carl-pope-fossil-fuels-dirty-politics/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Why Fossil Fuels Are Dirty Politics as Well as Dirty Energy</a>...

<a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">Dirty energy</a> money also overshadowed the heaviest pro-environmental spending yet from climate-friendly billionaire Tom Steyer and his organization <a href="https://nextgenclimate.org/elections/" target="_blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear;">NextGen Climate</a>. Some of the media are spinning this as a big defeat for Steyer and environmentalists. But it was more a matter of more money drowning them out—and how much more is unknown. While Steyer has been open about his spending through NextGen Climate, estimated at more than $50 million, the Koch brothers conceal much of their money in so-called 501 (c) 4 organizations, a form of nonprofit that can spend unlimited amounts of “dark money” without revealing its funders.

In fact, three of the seven candidates that NextGen Climate made top priorities prevailed: Senator Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, Senator-elect Gary Peters in Michigan and governor-elect Tom Wolf. Shaheen beat Scott Brown, who has changed positions on climate more often than he’s changed the state he’s run in. Peters squelched Terri Lynn Land who has said there should be a “debate” on the extent of human involvement in climate change and called Peters and Steyer “radical liberals.” Wolf beat sitting Governor Tom Corbett who also has said climate change is a “subject of debate” and ordered references to it that he thought took a position on it deleted from a state website. Corbett is also head cheerleader for Pennsylvania’s booming <a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/fracking-2/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.2s linear; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">fracking</a> sector.

==

MEDIA WATCH: With only THREE DAYS LEFT, FOX News is RE-AIRING a “documentary” on Obamacare in New Hampshire to SCARE voters into supporting Scott Brown

Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's bid to defend her seat against Republican challenger Thom Tillis is shaping up to be one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races in history: a flood of more than $103 million in spending from the campaigns and outside groups, according to The Charlotte Observer. This month, the spending spree has translated into about three TV ads every five minutessupporting -- or, more frequently, attacking -- one of the North Carolina candidates.
Yet as money-drenched as the Hagan/Tillis contest may be, voters in Arkansas and other Southern states may be feeling even more battered by the barrage of political spending this election season.
North Carolina is one of five states in the South with Senate races in 2014 that will determine whether the chamber is controlled by Democrats or Republicans. With more than 6.6 million registered voters, North Carolina is also the biggest of the Southern Senate battlegrounds, so the more than $100 million in projected spending has to cover more ground and reach more people.
By contrast, while smaller states like Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana are being targeted with less total spending, on a per-voter basis these states are experiencing an even greater deluge of election money relative to the size of their population.
A Facing South/Institute for Southern Studies analysis looked at the money flowing through the five Southern Senate races and compared it to the number of voters in each state. The following chart shows how the states compare in election cash per voter (click on it for a larger version):

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's bid to defend her seat against Republican challenger Thom Tillis is shaping up to be one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races in history: <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hkK8LpPsSYzV3xJvpB%2BVTDP%2FL52K7ugx" style="text-decoration: underline; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">a flood of more than $103 million in spending</a><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;"> from the campaigns and outside groups, according to The Charlotte Observer. This month, the spending spree has translated into about <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ThVPL0vA99P42c1ArLKxrDP%2FL52K7ugx" style="text-decoration: underline; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">three TV ads every five minutes</a><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">supporting -- or, more frequently, attacking -- one of the North Carolina candidates.<br style="line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" />

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">Yet as money-drenched as the Hagan/Tillis contest may be, voters in Arkansas and other Southern states may be feeling even more battered by the barrage of political spending this election season.<br style="line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" />

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">North Carolina is one of five states in the South with Senate races in 2014 that will determine whether the chamber is controlled by Democrats or Republicans. With more than 6.6 million registered voters, North Carolina is also the biggest of the Southern Senate battlegrounds, so the more than $100 million in projected spending has to cover more ground and reach more people.<br style="line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" />

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.7999992370605px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">By contrast, while smaller states like Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana are being targeted with less total spending, on a per-voter basis these states are experiencing an even greater deluge of election money relative to the size of their population.<br style="line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" />

==

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/colorado-proposition-105-gmo_n_6038812.html">huthttpth://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/colorado-proposition-105-gmo_n_6038812.html</a>

— Farms and fields dominate Colorado ads opposing a ballot measure to require labels on some foods that have been genetically modified, with farmers telling voters the labels will damage their businesses.

But farmers and agriculture groups are just bit players in the $11 million campaign to defeat Proposition 105. The real money is coming from biotechnology giant Monsanto Co., which has given more than $4.7 million, and food giants like Pepsico and Coca-Cola, which sent a combined $1.9 million to fighting the proposal.

Hormel Foods, Kraft Foods, Kellogg Co. and The Hershey Co. are also outspending farm groups to fight the proposal. Food companies are pouring big money into fighting a similar ballot measure in Oregon, too.

Colorado and Oregon are battlegrounds in a national war over genetically modified organisms, or organisms that have been altered at the molecular or cellular level. So-called GMOs now make up almost the entirety of many staple crops, such as corn and soybeans, which are used in many items on grocery-store shelves.

"We're not saying GMOs are bad. We're saying we want them to be labeled," said Tammi DeVille Merrell, campaign manager for Right To Know Colorado, which has raised less than $500,000 and has no TV or radio ads to promote its campaign.

Short on funds, the campaign is relying on big-name endorsers to take their side.

Chipotle, along with Ben & Jerry's ice cream company, has backed GMO labeling. Former Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich has planned a visit to Colorado next week to talk up the measure.

Labeling opponents in Colorado feel confident they'll be able to defeat the proposal. They've spent just about $3 million on television ads, according to campaign finance data analyzed by the Center for Public Integrity.

===

<h2 class="yiv6960934331null" style="text-align: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 32.5px; outline: none; letter-spacing: -0.75px;">Election to Cost Nearly $4 Billion, Topping Previous Midterms</h2>

<div style=" text-align: left;">In what the Center for Responsive Politics projects to be the most expensive midterm election ever, total campaign costs this season will approach $4 billion. This figure exceeds the costs of congressional elections in 2010 and 2012, which were both approximately $3.6 billion, by an estimated $333 million. The marked increase in outside spending from super PACs and 501(c) groups has contributed a significant amount to this unprecedented surge in midterm election campaign finances. Many data have yet to be released, but CRP predicts that candidates' and parties' combined spending alone will come close to $2.7 billion and outside spending will near $900 million. Taking into account administrative costs, the Center for Responsive Politics is left with the ultimate price tag for the 2014 midterm elections: nearly $4 billion. </div>

<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://opensecrets.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=aa7cf182bf7041258bb250f9d&id=5914dce58c&e=44dfb36771" style=" line-height: 1.2em; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Read more</a> and check out all of our <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://opensecrets.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aa7cf182bf7041258bb250f9d&id=ebeb3528df&e=44dfb36771" style=" line-height: 1.2em; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Money on the Midterms</a> posts.

<div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">effect 2014 off year:</div><div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/10/election-to-cost-nearly-4-billion-crp-projects-topping-previous-midterms/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/10/election-to-cost-nearly-4-billion-crp-projects-topping-previous-midterms/</a></div><div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="entry-content" style="margin: 5px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Almost $4 billion will be spent for this year’s midterm election, the Center for Responsive Politics is projecting. That figure makes this year’s election <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">by far the most expensive midterm ever</a>. The candidates and parties alone will combine to spend about $2.7 billion, while <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/summ.php?disp=O" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">outside groups</a> will likely spend close to $900 million on their own — a figure that veers close to the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/fes_summ.php?cycle=2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">$1.3 billion spent by outside groups in 2012</a>, when the hyper-expensive presidential race was fueling the fire.By the end of the battle, when totals for every category are added together, Team Red will outspend Team Blue, CRP projects. GOP and conservative-leaning candidates, party committees and outside groups will spend at least $1.92 billion, compared to at least $1.76 billion their rivals on the Democratic and liberal-leaning side will spend.In several categories — spending by House and Senate campaign committees, and money spent by secretive outside groups — conservative or Republican groups are projected to outdo their more liberal counterparts by a wide margin. Democrats and liberals will hold a slight lead when it comes to House and Senate party committee spending, and in the amount spent overall by outside groups. That lead in outside group spending, however, does not include money that groups spent on certain kinds of ads that didn’t have to be reported to the FEC if they were aired more than two months before the election (or 30 days before a primary); <a href="http://mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases/heated-battle-for-u-s-senate-draws-deluge-of-outside-group-ads-most-are-dark-money/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">conservative groups appear to have dominated in that category</a>.The 2010 midterm cost $3.6 billion; this one will run an estimated $333 million more than that. The congressional portion of the 2012 race cost about $3.6 billion as well.These projections are based on spending totals reported by campaigns and committees and outside groups through June 30 or Aug. 31, depending on the Federal Election Commission filing schedule they follow. A more detailed projection of the total cost of the election, taking into account numbers current through the end of September, will be released by CRP next week. These projections were developed by CRP researchers using models based on the 2010 election cycle. The Center has been projecting the cost of the election in every cycle since 1996.Outside Money ExplosionAs with the 2012 cycle, the explosion in outside money is a dominant theme of this election’s spending story. So far, at least $663.3 million has been spent by outside groups like super PACs and 527s (a figure that is current within the last 48 hours), but CRP’s projections based on the pattern in the 2012 cycle indicate that at least another $233.5 million remains to be spent in the 12 days before Nov. 4; that’s a rate of $19.4 million a day.<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/fixed.pie.chart.png" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><img class="alignright wp-image-6201" src="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/fixed.pie.chart.png" alt="fixed.pie.chart" width="404" height="350" srcset="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/fixed.pie.chart.png 923w, https://www.opensecrets.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/fixed.pie.chart-300x260.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px" style="border: none; vertical-align: middle; float: right; padding: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 2px 7px; display: inline;" /></a>Overall, liberal outside groups — including 527s — have spent $308.9 million so far, while conservative groups have spent $327.1 million. CRP is projecting that by Election Day, that dynamic will have flipped, with liberal outside groups slightly outspending conservative outside groups, $433 million to $424 million.Those figures, however, come with a major caveat. Our estimate is based on spending disclosed to the FEC. Again, certain ads don’t have to be reported, and it’s difficult to get a fix on exactly how much they cost. One group that began running these so-called “<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/resources/learn/glossary.php#Issue%20Advocacy" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">issue ads</a>” in North Carolina and other states as long ago as late 2013 is <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=753148958" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Americans for Prosperity</a>, a conservative 501(c)(4) organization under the tax code; AFP, which <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/10/02/?entry=1344&php=true&type=blogs&rref=politics" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">says it spent tens of millions</a> on such ads, and similar political nonprofits aren’t required to disclose the identities of their donors, either.Overall, it’s likely that at least $100 million in spending is not being counted, and that money leans distinctly to the right, records filed with the Federal Communications Commission indicate. If that’s an accurate estimate, any advantage the liberal outside spending groups have over conservative ones will be washed away by Election Day.Outside spending by groups — mostly <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/resources/learn/glossary.php#Super%20PAC" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">super PACs</a> — that disclose their donors, on the other hand, is dominated by the left. So far, liberal outside groups that name their donors have logged $197.4 million in reported spending, compared to similar groups on the right that have spent only $132.1 million. By Nov. 4, CRP projects that these liberal groups will spend $270.5 million, and conservative ones will spend just $181.1 million.Among groups that CRP has deemed as “partially disclosing,” meaning that some donors are known but at least some money comes from opaque sources (like secretive nonprofit organizations), the spending shifts heavily in favor of the right. Partially disclosing liberal outside groups have spent $20.5 million, and by Election Day will spend just under $5 million more. Conservative outside groups that partially disclose their donors, however, have already spent $67.6 million and are projected to spend $83.7 million — an additional $16.1 million.As for groups that hide all of their donors, there is a vast gap between the two sides, and it will not close before Election Day. So far, secretive liberal groups have reported spending $24.6 million, according to their FEC filings, or about a quarter of the $99.5 million spent by their conservative counterparts. By the time the polls close, liberal groups that hide their donors will have spent roughly $3.4 million more (a total of $28 million), while comparable conservative groups are projected to spend $113.6 million.Congressional FundraisingDemocratic candidates are currently being outspent by Republican candidates in both houses of Congress — a trend that CRP projects will continue through Nov. 4.In the House, Democratic candidates have spent $195.5 million, while Republican candidates have spent $270.9 million — a 58-42 advantage for the GOP. By Election Day, CRP projects, the ratio will be roughly the same, with Democratic candidates spending a total of $426.1 million, which will be dwarfed by the $591.1 million spent by Republican candidates.In the Senate the ratio is, and will be, closer. Current data shows that Democratic Senate candidates have spent $153.1 million versus $184.8 million spent by Republican Senate hopefuls. CRP researchers project that ratio — 54 percent of all Senate campaign cash being spent by Republicans compared to 45 percent by Democratic candidates — will hold, and Democratic candidates will finish having spent $292.7 million, in contrast to $353.3 million by Republican candidates.Party FundraisingWith the rise of outside groups, the national party structures have been undermined to a certain degree. Super PACs and politically-active nonprofits give big donors many more ways to support their preferred party and candidates. That may be one reason why both the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=DNC&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Democratic National Committee</a> and the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=RNC&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Republican National Committees</a> are projected to spend less than they did four years ago. The DNC has spent $114.8 million so far, lagging behind the RNC’s $125 million, and CRP projects it will spend $155.3 million to the RNC’s projected $169.1 million. In 2010, the DNC spent $228.3 million and the RNC, $215.7 million — significantly more than this time around. For the Democrats, that’s a significant decline from 2010, when the DNC spent $228.3 million. Similarly, the RNC spent $215.7 million in 2010.The same is not true, though, of the other left-leaning party committees, including the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=DCCC&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee</a> and the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=DSCC&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee</a>. Possibly because of President Obama’s vigorous fundraising for those groups, they are projected by CRP to spend a total of $427 million by Election Day. That is the single area where Democrats are projected to have a significant advantage. Republican equivalents — the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=NRSC&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">National Republican Congressional Committee</a> and <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/parties/totals.php?cmte=NRSC&cycle=2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">National Republican Senatorial Committee</a> — are projected to spent $330.9 million.In terms of fundraising, CRP estimates that all parties and committees will combine to raise $4.2 billion, though only $2.3 billion has been raised so far.</div><footer class="entry-meta" style="line-height: 15px;">
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background-clip: initial;">rnc</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/rnsc/" rel="tag" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">RNSC</a>, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/super-pacs_/" rel="tag" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">super PACs</a></footer></div><div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="text-align: start; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div>-===

sue s facing so 10/14

<div style=" text-align: left;">This election year, candidates for U.S. House and Senate to date have raised <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=L8s1PI17FGzIUa7Qbb7PMXFas9w8do7r" style="line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none;">nearly $1.2 billion for their campaigns</a>, a number that grows every day.</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">That doesn't include the money flowing in from outside groups -- 527 super PACs, 501c4 "social welfare organizations," business associations, and others who are spending money this election season that is, at least ostensibly, not coordinated with a campaign or party.</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">According to the latest data, the total of this independent spending is <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Vcon80OjS%2B%2BO%2F%2BBHFSPxBHFas9w8do7r" style=" line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none;">nearing $500 million</a> -- a number that is also relentlessly growing as we move closer to Election Day.</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">And a large and growing share of that is so-called "dark money" spent by groups that don't have to disclose their donors. A <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VdT8taZx2lHmF3ybLBlYGnFas9w8do7r" style=" line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none;">recent report by The New York Times</a> found that about 55 percent of this outside money flows through dark money groups, where the donors aren't disclosed, with the remaining 45 percent being spent by super PAC-style committees, which do list their contributors.</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">You see the impact of the election spending arms race in state politics in North Carolina as well. In some ways, special interest money has an even bigger influence at the state and local level. When a super PAC or political group unleashes $100,000 or a quarter million in a Congressional race, it's a drop in the bucket. But that kind of money can make a big difference in a small state house or senate district.</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">And that’s what we've increasingly seen in recent years. In 2010, the year of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, more than $2.6 million from outside groups flooded into elections for the N.C. General Assembly. Roughly <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=sYQaY%2BNPpHzdwJnf8H3D23Fas9w8do7r" style=" line-height: 16.7999992370605px; outline: none;">three-quarters of that came</a> from groups connected to millionaire conservative donor Art Pope, giving Republicans a 10-to-1 advantage in outside spending that contributed to their historic gains in the legislature.</div>

===

lessig

Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Harvard professor and political activist Larry Lessig is throwing the power -- and coffers -- of his crowd-sourced Mayday PAC into the otherwise uneventful South Dakota senate race.

The anti-corruption super PAC will run ads on behalf of Democrat Rick Weiland, emphasizing minimum wage, closing corporate loopholes and investing in education.

Weiland's campaign against former Republican Governor <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Mike_Rounds/" title="Mike Rounds" class="tpstyle" style=" text-decoration: none;">Mike Rounds</a> was <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-10-07/the-super-pac-to-end-super-pacs-jumps-into-south-dakotas-senate-race" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">initially considered uncompetitive</a> until recent polling showed the mainstream frontrunners in the four-way senate race only seven percentage points apart, with 35 percent of voters favoring Rounds versus 28 percent who prefer Weiland.

</div>

</div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">Read more: <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/10/07/Larry-Lessig-super-PAC-jumps-into-South-Dakota-senate-race-to-boost-Democrat/8861412697377/#ixzz3G32ChUVB" style=" text-decoration: none;">http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/10/07/Larry-Lessig-super-PAC-jumps-into-South-Dakota-senate-race-to-boost-Democrat/8861412697377/#ixzz3G32ChUVB</a>...</div>

<a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/10/07/Larry-Lessig-super-PAC-jumps-into-South-Dakota-senate-race-to-boost-Democrat/8861412697377/">http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/10/07/Larry-Lessig-super-PAC-jumps-into-South-Dakota-senate-race-to-boost-Democrat/8861412697377/</a>

==

OMfG

If Republicans gain control of the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) believes that he will lead the Environment and Public Works Committee. Inhofe made the comments to 50 plant managers in Catoosa, Oklahoma, the Tulsa World <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/usworld/inhofe-says-he-would-chair-environmental-committee-if-gop-wins/article_42fe420e-aec1-11e3-83a2-0017a43b2370.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">reports</a>.

Inhofe, who wrote a book called, The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future, served as chairman on the environmental committee for four years. David Vitter (R-LA) replaced him as the ranking GOP member on the committee chaired by Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for the 113th Congress. GOP rules limit members to six years of service as committee chairs, meaning that Inhofe could theoretically reclaim his position for another two years should Republicans win the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections.

Inhofe, still a senior member of the environmental committee and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, has been one of the most obstructive Senators when it comes to meaningful climate change legislation.

</div>

==

lcv 10/1

<li style=" text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none; zoom: 1;">Colorado -- This is a big one. Pollsters say notorious climate change denier and LCV Dirty Dozen member Cory Gardner is now the slight favorite ahead of longtime climate champ Sen. Mark Udall. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://action.lcv.org/site/R?i=GUW6527fh1f4wSLhN2qxGg" style=" line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">Help make this a win for the environment >></a></li>

<li style=" text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none; zoom: 1;">Alaska -- Senator Mark Begich once had an edge, but now forecasters give the lead to former attorney general Dan Sullivan. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://action.lcv.org/site/R?i=zR6I3eZiuWVqEhK444tVfg" style=" line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">Help make this a win for the environment >></a></li>

<li style=" text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none; zoom: 1;">Iowa -- Recent polls are giving the edge to LCV Dirty Dozen member Joni Ernst, who has said she favors shutting down the EPA entirely. Pollsters give her a 56 percent chance of winning over climate champion Rep. Bruce Braley -- but we've won races that close before, and we can do it again. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://action.lcv.org/site/R?i=7qUDBjRG8QsOVQKToRGz2A" style=" line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">Help make this a win for the environment >></a></li>

</ol>

===

<b style="line-height: 1.2em; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">CREDO SuperPAC is the only major progressive organization that is building independent, local, on-the-ground voter mobilization campaigns<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;"> with volunteer offices in the five pivotal states of Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, Kentucky and Georgia. cf mayday, steyer; 60% chance lose senate

===

7/18

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">Our race is close -- in the <strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; outline: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">single digits in a recent poll<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">. The Rothenberg Report took us off their “safe Democrat” list. It’s getting hot up here in Minnesota, folks. Al needs us to be able to take the heat.<br style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" />

<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">The billionaire Koch brothers and their network of allies have <strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; outline: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">pledged to spend $290 million<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;"> to buy elections for their allies. Al is not one of those allies.<br style="line-height: 15.6000003814697px; outline: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" />

<strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; outline: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">114<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;"> super PACs have already spent <strong style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 15.6000003814697px; outline: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">$77.8 million on the 2014 elections.

<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">outside spending?</div>

</div>

<table class="tablesorter" id="summary_A" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 10px 0pt 15px; width: 650px; line-height: 24px; min-width: 550px; clear: both;"><tbody><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Gardner, Cory (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=COS2" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">COS2</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,065,774</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,100,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$965,774</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Cotton, Tom (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=ARS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">ARS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,794,981</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$5,701</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,789,280</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Kingston, Jack (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=GAS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">GAS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,556,335</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,556,335</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Sink, Alex (D)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=FL13" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">FL13</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,442,541</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$11,298</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,431,243</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">McConnell, Mitch (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=KYS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">KYS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,313,217</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,050,150</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$263,067</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Tillis, Thom (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=NCS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">NCS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,270,682</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$450,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$820,682</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Markey, Ed (D)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=MAS2" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">MAS2</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,154,312</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,106,170</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$48,142</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Cassidy, Bill (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=LAS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">LAS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$709,445</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$709,445</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Simpson, Mike (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=ID02" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">ID02</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$525,259</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$525,259</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Ernst, Joni (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=IAS2" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">IAS2</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$524,997</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$524,997</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Land, Terri Lynn (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=MIS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">MIS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">McDaniel, Chris (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=MSS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">MSS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Dold, Bob (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=IL10" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">IL10</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Mills, Stewart (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=MN08" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">MN08</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="even"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jolly, David (R)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=FL13" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">FL13</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$477,611</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$471,663</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$5,948</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td></tr><tr class="odd"><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Hagan, Kay R (D)</td><td class="center" nowrap="" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=NCS1" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">NCS1</a></td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$462,954</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$7,242</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$455,712</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$0</td></tr></tbody></table>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">top recipient (some flow thru?) 6/1/14</div>

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<table class="tablesorter" id="spenders" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 20px auto; width: 629px; line-height: 24px;"><tbody><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Corner Table LLC</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Center to Protect Patient Rights</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$128,992,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2011 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">American Future Fund</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$80,105,866</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Feb 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">60 Plus Assn</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$42,123,723</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Tax Reform</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$37,167,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">PRDIST LLC</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Prosperity</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$33,691,800</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Responsible Leadership</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$25,623,050</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Center to Protect Patient Rights</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$24,850,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Prosperity</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$18,040,390</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">League of Conservation Voters</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$16,561,040</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Campaign for Community Change</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$13,800,993</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">American Commitment</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$13,084,544</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Tides Advocacy Fund</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Advocacy Fund</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$13,009,750</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">American Action Network</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$11,490,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">STN LLC</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Themis Trust</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$11,406,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Prosperity Foundation</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Prosperity</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$11,345,875</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Job Security</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$11,111,922</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Feb 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Advocacy Fund</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$9,985,944</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">League of Conservation Voters Education Fund</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">League of Conservation Voters</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$8,804,050</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Jul 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Americans for Limited Government</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$8,384,100</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Apr 2009 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Concerned Women for America Legislative Action</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Concerned Women for America</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$8,150,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Nov 2011 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Sierra Club Foundation</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Sierra Club</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$8,116,321</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Jul 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Natural Resources Defense Council</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$7,431,983</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jul 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">America Votes</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$7,310,955</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">National Rifle Assn</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$7,215,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jun 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Progressive Future</td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$6,123,440</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Aug 2011</td></tr></tbody></table>

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<table class="tablesorter" id="donors" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 20px auto; width: 629px; line-height: 24px;"><tbody><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=453732750" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">reedom Partners Chamber of Commerce</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$210,279,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Nov 2011 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=264683543" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Center to Protect Patient Rights</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$166,507,589</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=272753378" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Crossroads GPS</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Crossroads GPS/American Crossroads</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$49,700,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jun 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=367519719" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">TC4 Trust</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$44,811,800</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Aug 2009 - Jun 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=208293674" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Atlantic Advocacy Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$42,442,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=204952986" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sea Change Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$29,986,150</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Aug 2009 - Jul 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=522062978" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Americans for Job Security</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$24,575,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Nov 2011 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=943153687" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Advocacy Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$22,976,902</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=262046485" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wellspring Cmte</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$16,138,552</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Feb 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=263390444" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Green Tech Action Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$15,139,988</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Aug 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=522166327" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Donors Trust</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$14,133,103</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=530241211" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Pharmaceutical Rsrch & Mfrs of America</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$13,555,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=521386172" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Republican Jewish Coalition</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$8,000,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=205355252" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Environment America</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$6,897,955</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2008 - Jun 2009</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=260620554" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Future Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$5,903,700</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=581493949" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">National Christian Charitable Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$5,202,431</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=274395336" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Free Enterprise America</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$5,057,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=522192070" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Partnership Project</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$4,558,533</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2008 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=260540871" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Freedom's Watch</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$4,469,307</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2007 - Dec 2008</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=273097431" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Alliance for Freedom</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$4,190,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=113723921" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wisconsin Club for Growth</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,748,735</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=450493983" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Environment California</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Environment America</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,699,154</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Sep 2007 - Aug 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=452305224" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Priorities USA</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Priorities USA/Priorities USA Action</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,400,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=270419971" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">America's Families First</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,379,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=202222409" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Justice Partnership</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,372,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=521733698" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">League of Conservation Voters</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,292,968</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=810606786" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Partnership Action Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$3,098,854</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=130433430" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Petroleum Institute</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,900,150</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=870745629" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Alliance for Climate Protection</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,755,800</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=522298172" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Family Coalition</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Berman & Co</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,500,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=582466607" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,475,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=200960855" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Citizenlink</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Focus on the Family</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,235,616</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Oct 2008 - Sep 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=264568349" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">America Votes</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,138,613</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Jun 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=273379004" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Annual Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Wellspring Cmte</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,134,191</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Sep 2010 - Jun 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=311640316" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Schwab Charitable Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,085,999</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=391743887" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Issue</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$2,075,600</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=270730508" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Action Network</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,950,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Jun 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=271204594" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Citizens for a Strong America</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,797,956</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=262495846" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Patriot Majority USA</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,757,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=270424641" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Freedom & Values Alliance</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,715,346</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=396037928" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,638,720</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=581691765" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">John William Pope Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,525,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=900080500" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Environmental Defense Action Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Environmental Defense Fund</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,388,080</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Oct 2009 - Sep 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=522267268" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">New Models</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,371,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=133615533" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,235,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=452324423" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Evangchr4 Trust</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Themis Trust</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,185,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jun 2011 - May 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=941153307" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sierra Club</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,167,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=800444461" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Public Interest Projects Action Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=382190330" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,076,850</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=208802884" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Mayors Against Illegal Guns Action Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,020,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=352015808" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Dean & Barbara White Family Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$1,000,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=943126848" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Energy Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$990,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=521349353" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">FreedomWorks</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$900,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=800580228" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Common Sense</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$900,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=940707299" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">National Fedn of Independent Business</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$890,280</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=453199086" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Rosebush Corp</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$850,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Aug 2011 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=273711817" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">SecureAmericaNow.org</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$850,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=208180281" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Environment Massachusetts</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Environment America</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$793,331</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2008 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=116107128" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Environmental Defense Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$757,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Oct 2011 - Sep 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=237066873" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$650,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=943340436" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">New Majority California</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$625,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=455447986" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Committee for American Fairness</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$600,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=274185270" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Founding Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$590,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Dec 2011 - Nov 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=383332791" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Arcus Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$583,632</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=251113452" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sarah Scaife Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$577,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=270061100" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Campaign for Community Change</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$527,029</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Oct 2009 - Sep 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=450518844" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Rights at Work</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$525,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=480935563" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Claude R Lambe Charitable Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$504,725</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=300192708" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Center for American Progress Action Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$500,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=137029285" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Open Society Institute</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$468,883</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=271993953" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$425,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=800437208" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Common Sense Colorado</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$425,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=390711690" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wisconsin Bankers Assn</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$416,600</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jun 2010 - May 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=650415977" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Dunn's Foundation for Advancement/Right Thinking</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$400,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Apr 2009 - Mar 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=262731617" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Energy Alliance</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$400,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=250818080" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">United Steelworkers</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$397,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c5</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=131068220" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Motion Picture Assn of America</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$385,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=270755923" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Jobs First Coalition</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$365,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=237009135" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Community Foundation Serving Richmond & Central VA</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$350,250</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2009 - Dec 2009</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=043243004" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Proteus Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$350,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=200309803" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Republican Governors Public Policy Cmte</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Republican Governors Assn</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$335,948</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=360725160" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Farm Bureau</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$315,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c5</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Dec 2009 - Nov 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=452841608" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Americans for Responsible Leadership</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$300,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=360727175" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Medical Assn</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$295,120</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2008</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=363975580" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Americans for Limited Government</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$250,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=200505849" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">State Government Leadership Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$245,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=251914600" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Cornerstone Action</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$243,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=541962665" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">AGC Public Awareness & Advocacy Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$225,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2011 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=530222396" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">National Cable & Telecommunications Assn</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$225,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=800729128" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Partnership for America</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$220,112</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">May 2011 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=042762647" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Fund for the Public Interest</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$200,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=571151228" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Environment Colorado</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Environment America</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$200,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Sep 2010 - Aug 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=204681603" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Club for Growth</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$198,386</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=208824096" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Common Sense Issues Coalition</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$195,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Nov 2009 - Oct 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=208824036" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Common Sense Issues</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$175,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Nov 2011 - Oct 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=261525298" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Progressive Future</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$165,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2010 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=391233219" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Issues</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$157,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c6</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Oct 2008 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=271347875" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Common Sense Movement</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$150,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=260623149" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Democracy Alliance</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">American Commitment</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$150,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Aug 2008 - Jul 2009</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=841243301" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Castle Rock Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$150,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Dec 2010 - Nov 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=208476893" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Catholic Assn</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$150,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=202404168" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">MyWirelessOrg</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Cellular Telecom & Internet Assn</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$135,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=510402204" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">One Jerusalem</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$134,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=861158500" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Alliance Defense Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$125,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=943213100" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Tides Center</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Advocacy Fund</td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$121,694</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=521762320" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">American Values</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$112,500</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=311663020" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">US Charitable Gift Trust</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$111,706</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=526037034" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$101,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Mar 2009 - Feb 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=133922199" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">James & Judith K Dimon Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Dec 2009 - Nov 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=640875827" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Mississippi Common Trust Fund</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jul 2009 - Jun 2011</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=043101202" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Marcus Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=753148958" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Americans for Prosperity</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2012 - Dec 2012</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=446015127" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">EL Craig Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Aug 2009 - Jul 2010</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=581792400" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Farago Foundation</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr><tr class="even"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=522214305" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">USAction</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$95,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c4</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2008 - Dec 2008</td></tr><tr class="odd"><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/nonprof_contrib.php?id=205792227" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sam Adams Alliance</a></td><td style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;"> </td><td class="number" style="text-align: right; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">$75,000</td><td class="center" style="text-align: center; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">c3</td><td nowrap="" style="padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">Jan 2010 - Dec 2010</td></tr></tbody></table>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">lots of out of state $ in Miss senate race</div>

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<a href="http://billmoyers.com/episode/whos-buying-our-midterm-elections/">http://billmoyers.com/episode/whos-buying-our-midterm-elections/</a>

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Democrats will once again be defending many more Senate seats than the GOP, with 20 senators up compared to 13 for Republicans. Six of those Democrats hail from red states, while seven come from swing states. Republicans will need to pick up six seats to retake control of the upper chamber. On the House side, Republican gerrymanders in a number of states will continue to minimize Democratic chances at winning seats....They are defending seats in the Republican states of Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia, and also have seats up in the swing states of Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina and Virginia. Republicans' only blue-state seat is in Maine, and if Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) runs for reelection, she's likely in good shape.

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who have both said they’re running for reelection, are likely to face tough races in their conservative and Republican-trending states. Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who has been fundraising furiously, is also likely to face a strong challenge. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is expected to run again, and could face a tough general-election race — assuming he wins his primary; former Gov. Brian Schweitzer is rumored to be interested in challenging him.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson (S.D.) has not said whether he’ll run again, though he’s recovered well from a 2008 brain aneurysm. Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) has already formed an exploratory committee for the seat.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who is running for reelection, has already ramped up fundraising efforts for what could be a tough race in that swing state.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who is 76, is a top retirement possibility, and his June speech blasting the coal industry for opposing an Environmental Protection Agency rule was read by many as a sign that he has no plans on running again. Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) are considered retirement possibilities, and if they retire, those seats could be in jeopardy for Democrats.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Freshman Democratic Sens. Mark Udall (Colo.), Al Franken (Minn.), Jean Shaheen (N.H.) and Tom Udall (N.M.) could also face tough races.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Another possible headache for Democrats: If Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) winds up replacing Hillary Clinton as secretary of State, defeated Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) could run for Kerry’s seat.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">On the House side, while Democrats will have some opportunities at districts they missed out on in California and elsewhere, heavily gerrymandered GOP maps in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin and North Carolina will continue to limit their opportunities.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Democrats tend to live in more urban areas, concentrating their votes into fewer congressional districts, and legally required “majority-minority” districts further pack Democrats into a few districts and make nearby districts more safely Republican.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">According to a recent study by the Center for Voting and Democracy, Democrats start off with 166 safe districts while Republicans start off with 195. There are only 74 true swing districts where the presidential candidates won between 46 and 54 percent of the popular vote, down from 89 before redistricting.</div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">That means the GOP needs to win less than one-third of competitive House seats to stay in control — something that shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish, barring a huge Democratic wave. </div>

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<div style=" text-align: left;">Read more: <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/266979-democrats-face-tough-election-fundamentals-in-2014#ixzz2wcoXlcr2" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/266979-democrats-face-tough-election-fundamentals-in-2014#ixzz2wcoXlcr2</a> </div>

<div style=" text-align: left;">Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bNYbpAvBir4Pxiacwqm_6l&u=thehill" target="blank" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">@thehill on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bNYbpAvBir4Pxiacwqm_6l&u=TheHill" target="blank" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; outline: none;">TheHill on Facebook</a></div>

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huffpo 3/14

In all but one key Senate race so far this year, Koch-linked organizations like Americans for Prosperity, Concerned Veterans of America and the American Energy Alliance have spent more on issue-based ads attacking Democratic candidates than all independent Democratic groups combined have spent on similar ads criticizing Republican candidates.

The outside spending in House races is also dominated by Koch-linked groups. These groups have dropped $5.7 million in 14 districts, three times as much as all Democratic outside groups have spent on non-special election races this year...

In response, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his Democratic colleagues are trying to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/06/harry-reid-koch-brothers_n_4914164.html" target="hplink" sl-processed="1" style=" box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">turn the Koch-linked money against their Republican opponents</a>. The Democrats' strategy seeks to tie GOP Senate candidates to the agenda of Koch groups by highlighting <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/03/07/what-the-dem-attacks-on-the-koch-brothers-are-really-about/" target="hplink" sl-processed="1" style=" box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">how specific policies advocated by Republicans</a> will aid billionaires and hurt everybody else.

Barasky points to Arkansas Senate candidate Tom Cotton's vote against the farm bill as an example. Rep. Cotton, a Republican, was the only member of the Arkansas congressional delegation to vote against that bill, which Americans for Prosperity openly opposed. The Koch group has spent nearly $2 million on the Arkansas Senate race.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) has been the top target of Koch group spending overall. Both the DSCC and Hagan's campaign hope to tie state House Speaker Thom Tillis, the Republican Party-endorsed candidate for that Senate seat, to the billionaires in voters' minds. Tillis helped pass a state legislative agenda closely following the one put forward by Americans for Prosperity and other Koch-linked groups.

Hagan press secretary Sadie Weiner said, "The Koch brothers are really trying to buy this race, and they're trying to buy this race because they know that Thom Tillis will push their agenda because he did it in Raleigh last year."

Democratic Party organizations and their unaffiliated super PA...

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 24px;">More than eight months out from Election Day, voters around the country are already being peppered with political attack ads <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9S2qCsI74" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">like this one</a> from a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization whose address is a post office box in Des Moines, Iowa. In this second midterm election since the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, nonparty groups such as super PACs and politically active nonprofits have <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/cycle_tots.php?cycle=2014&view=Y&chart=N" style=" text-decoration: none;">already spent nearly $31 million</a> on these kinds of ads, three times more than they had dumped into congressional races at this point in the 2010 cycle.

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 24px;">It's not just the amount of money pouring into states like North Carolina, New Hampshire and Alaska that is startling. Voters are increasingly left in the dark about where it's coming from. That's because the "dark money" nonprofits, primarily 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations and 501(c)(6) trade associations, neither of which must disclosure their donors, are playing an increasingly prominent role in the fight to control Congress. By themselves, they have already spent 75 percent more at this point than in the record-shattering 2012 cycle, when they ultimately spent a whopping $310 million. opensecrets</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">pbs newshour 2/14</div>

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JUDY WOODRUFF: Senate Democrats face a tough map in this November’s midterm elections, having to defend 21 seats, compared to 14 for Republicans.

Among the top targets for Republicans are seven seats currently held by Democrats in states that Mitt Romney won in 2012: Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Democrats, meanwhile, view Kentucky and Georgia as their best pickup opportunities.

As the two parties stockpile resources for the fall campaign, outside groups have already begun spending massive sums of money. In fact, Americans for Prosperity, which is backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, has spent $27 million on ads just since August.

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">1. Kentucky SEN: This contest will probably receive the most NATIONAL attention over the entire year, given that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faces a competitive GOP primary (against Matt Bevin) and a competitive general election (against Alison Grimes) if he advances. So it will gauge both the establishment-vs.-Tea Party fight inside the GOP, as well as whether Democrats have a shot to pick up a Senate seat in this red state. Always considered a formidable campaigner, McConnell also faces this challenge – protecting his right flank in the primary before the general election. Then again, Kentucky was a state where Mitt Romney outpaced President Obama, 61%-38%.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">2. Florida GOV: This will be the marquee gubernatorial contest of 2014. It will feature vulnerable Gov. Rick Scott, who will spend millions upon millions of his own money. He’ll likely face off against Republican-turned-independent-turned Democrat Charlie Crist in an effort to reclaim his old job. And it takes place in one of the most important swing states in the country.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">3. Louisiana SEN: The reason why this contest, right now, is the top Dem-held Senate race to watch in 2014 is that it could well determine if Republicans can net the six seats needed to take back control of the Senate. More than the other red-state Dem held seats, this one has a lynchpin feel to it. The thinking: If Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) wins, it’s likely that one of Kay Hagan (D-NC) or Mark Begich (D-AK) holds on, too. The opposite is true if Landrieu loses. It’s also shaping up to be a great test of which message is more problematic – that Landrieu supported the health-care law (see this defensive Landrieu TV ad), or that GOP front-runner Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voted to shut down the government in October (see this TV ad). Oh, and because Louisiana holds its free-for-all “jungle primary” on Election Day 2014 with the run-off on Dec. 6.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">4. Arkansas SEN: This is another major GOP target. Can incumbent Democrat Mark Pryor hold on? This race has already featured invoking religion and a back and forth over how religious Pryor really is. It could get ugly. The other question, does Republican challenger, freshman Rep. Tom Cotton, prove to be the real deal? Also, does 50% even exist anymore for a Democrat running for a federal statewide office?</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">5. North Carolina SEN: As Roll Call recently reported, no contest so far has seen more TV advertising dollars than this race. The contest also will pit the state’s favorable demographics for Democrats (sizable African-American and Latino populations), versus the Republican Party’s gains in the state in the 2012 election. And here’s why the 2014 map is so challenging for Democrats: Out all of the competitive contests so far, North Carolina is the one where Obama performed the best in ’12 (getting 48% of the vote).</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">6. WI GOV: Everyone’s talking about Scott Walker as a potential 2016 presidential dark horse. But he has to win reelection as governor first. It’s not something a lot of people are talking about, but the question is can Scott Walker win three statewide races in five years? That would be quite the feat in this Midwestern swing state.Polls have shown as tight race between Walker and touted Democratic challenger Mary Burke, a Madison school board member and former state Secretary of Commerce. She’s campaigned hard already, but the caliber of her candidacy remains to be seen. She will have the chance to prove her bona fides because state Senator Kathleen Vinehout appears likely to challenge her in a primary (which will take place Aug. 12).</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">7. Ohio GOV: If John Kasich wants to run for president, like Scott Walker in Wisconsin, he has to win reelection first in this all-important presidential battleground and he’ll have a VERY tough re-election fight.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">8. Alaska SEN: After Louisiana and North Carolina, this race will tell us a lot about whether Democrats can hold on to the Senate – or if Republicans can win it back. The contest outside the Lower 48 features incumbent Mark Begich (D-AK) against a GOP field consisting of Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller, who won the 2010 Republican Senate primary  (but lost to write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski). The key for Begich may be third party candidates, not just the GOP primary. When Democrats win in Alaska, it’s usually because they can make 47% or 48% a winning number.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">9. GA SEN: Democrats don’t have many targets this cycle. Kentucky is one, and they HOPE Georgia is another. They got a good candidate with Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn. Democrats think they might get a bank-shot opening in this state with changing demographics from a divisive GOP primary, featuring hardline conservative Reps. Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun, as well as Rep. Jack Kingston, thought to be the more centrist appropriator – although even Kingston has faced a backlash for saying recently that poor children should sweep cafeteria floors to learn there isn’t “such a thing as a free lunch.” The primary is May 20th.</div>

<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">Advertise | AdChoices</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">10. CO/MI/MN SEN: One of these we assume will pop into the top 10. We’re just not sure which one. If it’s ONE, that might be OK for Democrats. But if it’s two or more, that spells big problems for them because it means the national numbers that are cratering now have not recovered. Right now, our best guess is that it is Colorado that pops, but don’t sleep on the open seat in Michigan or even Franken in Minnesota. koch?</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">Five Wildcards (These are going to be fascinating races but unclear just how competitive they will be or whether they will tell a BIGGER story):</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">WY SEN -- Enzi vs. Cheney primary: There’s nothing like a family feud between a prominent American political family to draw national attention. Liz Cheney’s entrance into the Wyoming Senate race rocked the political landscape in the Cowboy state, especially given that Sen. Mike Enzi (R) hadn’t apparently done anything in particular to offend conservatives and that he thought they were friends. So far, polls show Enzi with leads of 50 points. Does this race prove to be anything more than a shiny-metal object? It’s a late primary – Aug. 19 – so there will be plenty of time to find out.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">Hawaii SEN -- Schatz vs. Hanabusa Dem primary: This race has exposed an ethnic rift in Hawaii between white mainlanders and Japanese émigrés in a place often touted as something of a utopia of diversity. After longtime Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) died, Brian Schatz, who is white, was appointed to this seat nearly one year ago by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. It was a bold move, defying a dying wish of Inouye, who penned a letter to Abercrombie requesting that Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa be named to succeed him. It gets even more complicated because of all the ties to President Obama, who born in Hawaii. Abercrombie, a former longtime congressman, was college friends with Obama’s parents at the University of Hawaii. But Obama calls Inouye a hero and mentor. Like Wyoming, this primary is more about intra-party feuds, in this case, feuds between the various Hawaii Dem machines. This primary is Aug. 9.</div>

<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">Advertise | AdChoices</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">TX GOV: If demographics are destiny, then Democrats believe at some point they should be able to turn ruby red Texas blue. Texas is now a “majority-minority state.” Whites only make up 45% of the state population (!!!). And yet, Democrats have ZERO statewide officeholders. They hope that changes in 2014 when they shoot for the big prize – governor, with rock-star-of-the-left state Sen. Wendy Davis, who faces off against state Attorney General Greg Abbott. Make no mistake, Abbott is the favorite here. But Davis, who was launched to fame because of her ability to delay passage of a Texas abortion law, will be able to raise a ton of money from the left. The question will be, can she mobilize Latinos, who make up four-in-10 Texans, and peel off some white women. And most importantly, can Davis be seen as more than a one-issue candidate?</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">NM GOV: If Susana Martinez (R) wins reelection – and she could wind up with a tougher-than-expected race – she would rocket to the top of the 2016 GOP VP list. But she has to get re-elected.</div>

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<div style="text-align: left; line-height: 22.4400005340576px;">SC GOV: Nikki Haley’s suffered from lackluster poll numbers and is in a rematch from last time around. Does she wind up in trouble? There will be increasing attention paid to South Carolina over the next year or so, especially with the many 2016 Republicans who will be trotting through – and with Haley wanting to be on stage next to them.</div>

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