The Federal Election Commission Is About to Partially Shut Down
AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley For years, the Federal Election Commission has been barely functional. But at the end of this month—as the 2020 campaign heats up and unprecedented amounts of money flow to candidates for national office—much of the agency’s work will shut down entirely. There will be no new fundraising rules, no punishments for…
Political Campaigns Are Pitching Donor-Match Programs That Might Not Exist
Nikolas Joao Kokovlis/Sopa/Zuma As the Democratic presidential candidates wound down their second debate in Detroit last month, Donald Trump’s fundraising committee blasted out an email decrying the “socialist circus” with a tempting offer to supporters of the president. “Our biggest fundraising deadline of the year is just 3 hours away, and we are still well…
Tom Steyer Has a Big Advantage in the 2020 Race: Your Email Address
Tom SteyerSteven Senne/AP As Tom Steyer kicks off his White House bid, he has one major advantage in his quest to put together a winning presidential campaign: a pair of massive email lists from organizations he founded to fight climate change and call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Steyer’s campaign has already rented…
The Courts Won’t End Gerrymandering. Eric Holder Has a Plan to Fix It Without Them.
On a frigid March morning, Eric Holder strode into a brick union hall on the west side of Milwaukee, across from a credit union and an auto body shop. The Merrill Park neighborhood was once the center of the city’s Irish political machine, filled with stately Victorian houses—including the childhood home of Spencer Tracy—but it…
South Dakota’s “Riot-Boosting” Law Aims to Curb the Next Standing Rock Before it Even Starts
Dakota Access pipeline protesters face off with law enforcement during the final raid of the Standing Rock prayer camp on February 22, 2017.Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/Zuma During the 2016 protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, Dallas Goldtooth became internet famous for his broadcasts from “Facebook Hill,” the one area of the prayer camps on the Standing Rock…
The Head of Albania’s Conservative Party Faces Criminal Charges, and an Ex-Trump Aide Is Involved
Lulzim Basha pictured with President Donald Trump at a 2017 fundraiser for Wisconsin’s then-governor, Scott Walker. Prosecutors in Albania on Thursday announced plans to file criminal charges against Lulzim Basha, the head of the country’s main conservative party, regarding more than $600,000 in payments that his party reportedly made in 2017 to a Republican lobbyist…