Campaign spending – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

December 20, 2022

The Morrison government spent a record amount on taxpayer-funded advertising, new data reveal

Kate Griffiths, Grattan Institute and Anika Stobart, Grattan Institute

Politicisation of taxpayer-funded advertising is wasteful and creates an uneven playing field in elections.

From Alaska to Alabama, corporations spend money to shape their local business environments, resources and regulations. Douglas Rissing/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

October 20, 2022

Corporate spending in state politics and elections can affect everything from your wallet to your health

Richard A. Devine, DePaul University and R. Michael Holmes Jr., Florida State University

Businesses can spend huge amounts of money to influence Congress. But sizable lobbyist and campaign donations also go to state campaigns and lawmakers to influence policymaking.

Protesters rally to have Colorado’s then-incoming governor put an up-to-nine-month moratorium on oil and gas development. Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images

June 29, 2020

Money talks: Big business, political strategy and corporate involvement in US state politics

Richard A. Devine, American University and R. Michael Holmes Jr., Florida State University

Millions of dollars are spent every election by corporations that want to influence state regulations and policies, and that’s likely to continue in the upcoming election.

May 20, 2019

What we know about how political parties use Facebook advertising – and what we don’t

Katharine Dommett, University of Sheffield and Sam Power, University of Exeter

Overall spending is reported but important details are missing.

Maybe it’s time to reconsider those long-held ideas? Shutterstock/pathdoc

December 19, 2018

Your deeply held beliefs may just be wrong – 5 essential reads

Naomi Schalit, The Conversation

Popular wisdom may be popular, but sometimes it’s downright wrong. Five stories from The Conversation’s 2018 politics coverage interrogate popular wisdom – and find it lacking.

Lots of money is spent on campaigns. But is that a problem? Shutterstock

November 2, 2018

Campaign spending isn’t the problem – where the money comes from is

Richard Briffault, Columbia University

Congressional midterm election spending will likely hit a record $5 billion. But the spending masks the main problem with US campaign financing: who gives the money and what they may get in return.

Money in politics? Somebody’s got to pay for those signs. AP/John Raoux

October 31, 2018

Money in elections doesn’t mean what you think it does

Suzanne Robbins, University of Florida

Is money the root of all evil in politics? It’s easy to see a correlation between winning and fundraising – money flows to likely winners and competitive races. But correlation is not causation.

Trump’s long-time lawyer and political ‘fixer’ has pleaded guilty to breaking two campaign finance laws, allegedly at the direction of the president. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

August 23, 2018

There’s a dark history to the campaign finance laws Michael Cohen broke — and that should worry Trump

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Stetson University

Trump’s former personal lawyer broke two laws that control political spending, both passed after major election scandals. President Roosevelt survived his campaign’s misdeeds. Nixon did not.

Republican candidate for Georgia’s Sixth District congressional seat Karen Handel declares victory with her husband Steve. AP Photo/John Bazemore

June 21, 2017

Most expensive race in House history turns out nearly 58 percent of Georgia district’s voters

Jeffrey Lazarus, Georgia State University

But there’s little evidence the high spending changed any minds, says a political scientist who lives in the district.

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