Consulting firms employed by candidates and party committees are simultaneously raking in huge sums by working on the same races for independent political groups, a new report shows.
The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision allowed limitless campaign spending by groups that don't coordinate with candidates or national parties. For leading political vendors working on high-profile races, that's meant a huge new revenue stream.
President Biden and congressional Democrats are pressing for legislation that would restrict the practice.finds extensive overlap in the vendors employed by "regulated" political entities — such as campaigns and party committees — and "unregulated" groups, which include super PACs and 501 nonprofits, often called "dark-money" groups.
A network of seven affiliated firms the report dubs the Slaters Lane entities is at the center of an ongoing lawsuit alleging the National Rifle Association and a pair of GOP campaigns used those vendors to circumvent coordination rules.That sort of end-run around federal campaign finance laws is a concern, but firms that work on both sides of the campaign-super PAC divide are generally careful to erect internal firewalls.
Democratic firm GMMB set up a pair of ad-buying affiliates, Waterfront Strategies and Great American Media, in part to "keep clear lines between staff and different projects while being in full compliance with all regulations," according to Eric Conrad, a spokesperson for the firm. The other vendors identified as the most prolific double-dippers either declined to comment or did not respond to comment requests from Axios.Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums, including from corporations, unions and nonprofits. But they generally pay higher rates for TV ads, and coordination restrictions can make them cumbersome political vehicles.
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