election money

Non-candidate spending has increased  in state elections since 2010, in part because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, according to “Who’s Calling the Shots in State Politics?” a multi-year investigation conducted by the MacArthur-supported Center for Public Integrity. Citizens United permitted unions and corporations to spend without limits on candidate-related ads, causing the formation of super PACs and political nonprofits. Through September 8, 2014, non-candidate organizations have spent $55 million on state-level races, amounting to around 19 percent of state-level political ad dollars, compared to 12 percent of such spending in 2010. These organizations have run political television ads 126,000 times in 2014, buying the majority of ads in six states and spending more than candidates in at least 17 races.