Eric Cantor leads the way in the next big thing in fundraising... FEC's busy day... Sarah Palin's donors not giving to other candidates... Even more absurdity from Huntsman's super PAC... And ads from the DNC, Ted Cruz, Sierra Club, and Scott Walker. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
SUPER LEADERSHIP PACS -- Eric Cantor has a super PAC. Technically, he can't raise unlimited funds for it, but he's using the super PAC to expand his influence and fundraising base in Congress. Politico's Amanda Palmer and Robin Bravender write, "The star fundraiser is throwing his weight behind a powerful new GOP super PAC backed by Speaker John Boehner, the Congressional Leadership Fund, and a second one, the YG Action Fund, launched by former Cantor deputy chief of staff John Murray. Both groups support the goal of bolstering the Republican House majority, but the group founded by Cantor's aide also plans to focus on the Young Guns brand of insurgent candidates not afraid to challenge the establishment. Some Republican leaders see Cantor's branching out as a boon for overall fundraising, but GOP establishment players question whether Cantor is looking out for his own brand at the expense of the broader party effort after tensions have arisen repeatedly between the top two House Republicans during the past year. ... Another Republican lobbyist echoed those fears, noting that the GOP leadership-backed Congressional Leadership Fund is going to be funding get-out-the-vote efforts and other ground game political tactics, while the Cantor-backed group is expected to have a narrower set of goals that will ultimately benefit the Virginia Republican by expanding his fundraising base." [Politico]
Fundrace takeaway from the article: Concerns of super leadership PACs coming true. Just like in the GOP presidential candidates, you soon won't see a member of congressional leadership without one of these.
CAMPAIGN VIDEOS
Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. We also have a thing for terrible historical campaign ads so please send along your favorites. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.
Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "ROMNEY: Deceive America" -- The DNC's response to Mitt Romney's first ad labels Romney a liar and gives his campaign the tagline, "Deceive America." This is all because of the selective editing the Romney camp used in their ad that used a quote of Obama's out of context.
Link: [http://youtu.be/BUaUyBjLJH4]
Market: YouTube
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Ted Cruz for Senate
Candidate opposed: David Dewhurst
Spot: "Thanks, David Dewhurst" -- In this web ad a cartoon family heading home for Thanksgiving meets some unwelcome groping and x-rays when passing through a TSA security checkpoint. The message is that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Cruz' opponent in the Republican primary, refused to support legislation that would have condemned TSA procedures including pat-downs and x-ray scanners.
Link: [http://youtu.be/mUF0OnDb4n0]
Market: YouTube
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Scott Walker for Governor
Candidate supported: Scott Walker
Spot: "Right for Wisconsin" -- Another ad supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) as he faces a potential recall election after pushing a highly controversial anti-labor bill in his first few months in office. This one features a high school teacher who says that the recall effort, "feels a little like sour grapes."
Link: [http://youtu.be/8rAEM-QJFHk]
Market: Wisconsin.
Buy: Part of a ~$300,000 ad buy.
Committee: Sierra Club
Candidate opposed: Rep. Dennis Rehberg
Spot: "Rep. Rehberg Blocks Clean Energy Jobs" -- The Sierra Club hits Dennis Rehberg, who is running for Senate in Montana, for blocking clean energy programs. This is an issue ad calling on viewers to call Rehberg's office.
Link: [http://youtu.be/CdBPybpHyo0]
Market: Billings, Mont.
Buy: Unknown.
Committee: Sierra Club
Candidate opposed: Rep. Fred Upton
Spot: "Rep. Upton Blocks Clean Energy Jobs" -- The Sierra Club hits Fred Upton, who is the chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, for blocking clean energy programs. This is an issue ad calling on viewers to call Upton's office.
Link: [http://youtu.be/Vby55nI5ZHQ]
Market: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Buy: Unknown.
Committee: Rick Perry for President
Candidate supported: Rick Perry
Spot: "Securing the American Dream (Marcus' Story)" --Navy SEAL Marcus Lattrell tells a harrowing story of a battle he was involved in in Afghanistan in this Rick Perry web ad thanking the troops for their service during Thanksgiving.
Link: [http://youtu.be/ssbSECuuN3s]
Market: YouTube
Buy: None. Just a web video.
The FEC had a busy day reporting out multiple draft advisory opinions on important super PAC cases. In the case of Sen. Mike Lee's request to raise unlimited funds from corporations through his leadership PAC the FEC issued one draft opinion rejecting his request, indicating that commissioners have enough support to fully reject Lee's request. The case of American Crossroads' request to use candidates in their ads - which received ridicule from Stephen Colbert - is more complicated. The commission released four draft opinions with varying levels of acceptance and denial of Crossroads' proposed activity. Some campaign finance experts are saying that this means the FEC will deadlock, however previous controversial requests that received multiple draft opinions were decided unanimously by the commission. Votes are next week.
PALIN DONORS STAYING PUT, SO FAR -- Donors to Sarah Palin's Sarah PAC awaited her decision on running for president while not contributing much to other candidates. Fewer than ten percent of the donors giving more than $250 to Palin's PAC gave to another candidate prior to Palin's announcement that she wouldn't seek the GOP nomination. The candidate receiving the most support from Palin donors was Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). HuffPost reports, "A review of campaign finance records by The Huffington Post shows that, as of Sept. 30, only 337 individuals of the more than 3,500 who had donated more than $250 to Palin's political action committee, Sarah PAC, had also given to another Republican candidate prior to Palin's announcement. ... '[T]he support behind Sarah Palin is steadfast,' Tami Nantz, a blogger at Moms 4 Sarah Palin, wrote via email. 'Those of us who support her wholeheartedly believe that she is the woman for the job, and because of that, we were unwilling to throw our support behind another candidate until we knew for certain whether or not she would be running.'" [HuffPost]
DONORS DOUBLE DIP -- Fifty-six donors have given to both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, according to a study of double donors by the Center for Responsive Politics. The most popular combination was Romney and Rick Perry, likely due to Texas donors, the backbone of GOP fundraising, feeling the need to give to their home state governor. CRP writes, "Through the end of the third quarter, more than 1,000 people have given $200 or more to multiple top-tier candidates, and 533 of those individuals have given the legal maximum amount of $2,500 to at least one candidate, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics. ... The donors who gave to more than one presidential candidate diversified using many different investment strategies. Some gave along ideological lines, others spread their money widely. But the most popular strategy among these presidential investors seems to be a calculated bet. Through the end of September, a total of 197 people donated at least $2,500 to either former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or Texas Gov. Rick Perry and at least $200 to the other, according to research by the Center." [OpenSecrets]
MORE SUPER PAC ABSURDITY -- A former campaign official for Jon Huntsman is now raising money for his super PAC. iWatch News reports, "The super PAC behind a $1.5 million New Hampshire television ad blitz for Jon Huntsman has been quietly benefiting from the fundraising muscle of lobbyist Tom Loeffler, who until recently was a top Huntsman campaign official. Back in September, Loeffler - a former Texas Congressman - was a senior adviser to Huntsman's presidential campaign and briefly served as its chairman. But Loeffler told iWatch News that about two months ago he left the campaign - where donations are restricted - and shifted to raising unlimited funds for Our Destiny PAC, the super PAC that's supporting Huntsman." [iWatch News]
TRACKING OUTSIDE SPENDING:
Jon Huntsman (R), $1,455,473 to support, $0 to oppose.
Rick Perry (R), $895,230 to support, $0 to oppose.
Herman Cain (R), $462,217 to support, $0 to oppose. (+$50,000 to support)
Barack Obama (D), $0 to support, $356,428 to oppose.
Mitt Romney (R), $0 to support, $306,229 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.
RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS
NONE
RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
9-9-9 Fund, $50,000 to support Herman Cain for president.
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