State Parties Tag Archive

Sandler Reiff Assists Politico with State Party Research

On Sunday, Politico reported on the dire financial straits many state parties are facing as donors are increasingly giving more to Super PACs than state parties. Using data provided by Sandler, Reiff, Young & Lamb, Politico crunched state party campaign finance data from 2000 through 2013, and found a near universal decline in fundraising numbers:

On both sides of the ledger, state parties have shown signs of financial strain. For in-state elections, state parties raised an average of $5.4 million in 2000. By 2008, that number had dropped to $4.1 million. By 2012, it was $2.8 million.

On the federal side, just four state parties out of 100 — all Republican — had more than $1 million of federal funds in the bank at the end of 2013.

Politico cited an increasingly competitive fundraising environment and a number of federal rules that restrict how state parties can raise and spend money. In response, state party leaders have called on Congress to loosen such restrictions, and allow them to remain politically viable.

To read the full article, click here.

 

Neil Reiff Pens Editorial in Campaigns & Elections Magazine

A new editorial by Neil Reiff was published in Campaigns and Elections magazine this morning. Titled “The Weakening of State and Local Parties,” Mr. Reiff discusses how ten years after the passage of BCRA, the law has crippled the ability of state and local parties to raise and spend money in non-federal races. While the rise of Super PACs has led to hundreds of millions of dollars of largely unregulated contributions and expenditures over the last few years, new regulations and court decisions have continued to restrict what state and local parties can do more and more.

Mr. Reiff argues that state parties serve a vital role, and through grassroots organizing, they can serve as a counterbalance to the negative media games that Super PACs play. Thus, Congress must act to restore some semblance of a level playing field for state and local parties.

Read the entire article here.