#campaign-finance

#campaign-finance

The Tory and Labour candidates who Nigel Farage beat to win his Westminster seat of Clacton have described a Reform campaign that felt like a juggernaut, as police began assessing claims of overspending by the Reform UK leader. The candidates spoke after a former aide alleged that Reform UK falsely reported election expenses in Clacton, where Farage won in last year's general election.

The claims have been made by a former Reform councillor, who the party said was expelled several months ago. Richard Everett, a former member of Farage's campaign team, told the Daily Telegraph he believes Reform exceeded the 20,660 spending limit set by electoral law in the Essex constituency and failed to declare some costs, although he said Farage was "blissfully unaware" of the omissions.

The dairy industry sought a deal with President Richard Nixon to write a huge campaign check to his reelection campaign-in exchange for price supports that would artificially raise the cost of milk. But federal law strictly limited the amount it could donate. So Nixon's henchmen devised a workaround: Dairy companies would funnel $2 million through various Republican Party committees, which could then transfer the cash to Nixon's campaign.

Sacramento lobbyist Greg Campbell pleaded guilty Thursday to a conspiracy charge tied to a federal investigation of Democratic political operatives. The case involves Gov. Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, and a former advisor to gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra. The three allegedly conspired to siphon funds from Becerra's dormant state campaign account between February 2022 and September 2024.

More than a million ballots are in the mail. The first votes will be counted in less than a week. The Santa Clara County Assessor's runoff off election is jogging into the homestretch toward Election Day, Dec. 30. December 30? That's right. An election cycle that began more than five months ago in the bright sun of the summer solstice with the resignation/retirement of Assessor Larry Stone ends in the shadows of its winter counterpart.

What changed? Republicans long characterized Silicon Valley as a bastion of liberalism. But over the past half-decade, many of tech's wealthiest titans rebelled against the Biden administration's criticism and policing of their industry. Last year, many tech barons threw their support behind the GOP, which they saw as more aligned with their often-libertarian ideals and their companies' economic interests.

A commentary in the Opinion section of Sunday's newspaper, Bay Area local leaders need protection against violence, mischaracterized details of a state law, due to inaccurate information provided by the League of Women Voters of Oakland.

A defendant in the bribery and corruption case surrounding former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao allegedly took a secret, compromising video of Attorney General Rob Bonta. That's just one of the explosive accusations in a letter obtained by ABC7 I-Team's Dan Noyes that appears to have sped up the FBI investigation. The letter may also help to explain why the Bonta spent $468,000 of campaign contributions on legal fees, to help him deal with FBI investigators.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds and using a substantial portion of the dough to fund her 2022 campaign to join the House of Representatives. The Justice Department said Cherfilus-McCormick's family healthcare company received a $5 million overpay for a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract in 2021. Rather than return the funds, the Democratic lawmaker routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source, according to the Justice Department's announcement. She conspired with multiple people, including her older brother, Edwin Cherfilus, to pull off the scam.

Lincoln submitted a complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate late filings of Lopez's 2020 campaign expenditures and missing documents, resulting in a $1,263 fine. The FPPC found many of Lopez's campaign statements were not filed on time, that expenditures totaling $14,104 were not recorded and that $4,500 was not processed through a bank account. Lopez told the Post he paid the $1,263 fine, resolving the case.

On Sunday, Massie posted a photo of Adelson and wrote, Israeli citizen Miriam Adelson bought the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion; now she's buying politicians. She's spending millions in Kentucky to buy Ed Gallrein, my primary opponent, a Congressional seat in Kentucky. Why? Because I won't vote to send your tax dollars overseas. Miriam Adelson is a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen and the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

Sliwa wanted to be the voice of the voiceless' The Masters of the Universe, the billionaires, decided that I should not have the right to represent all of you, to be the voice of the voiceless, the working class people who are the backbone of this city, Sliwa told his supporters Tuesday night. He alleged that he had been offered $10 million to drop out of the race and boost Cuomo's campaign but insisted that he did not have a price.

"On Sunday morning, our dear friend and dedicated community leader, Candace, experienced a devastating fire that damaged both her car and home, destroying many of her personal belongings. We are deeply grateful she is safe, but the fire has created unexpected logistical and financial challenges," Calcagni explained in the online fundraiser. "Anyone who knows Candace knows how tirelessly she works to uplift others. She shows up for her community every day, and now it's our turn to show up for her."

With less than two weeks to go until a hotly contested gubernatorial election in Virginia, the Republican candidate, whom her Democratic opponent's campaign calls "so far right, she's wrong for Virginia," is trying to appeal to a broad swath of voters. However, newly unearthed campaign-finance records, obtained by The Advocate, show that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle‑Sears donated thousands of dollars to a far-right Christian organization that has described in vitro fertilization as "child trafficking."

He's authored some really big, really consequential bills - including bills that have a lot of opposition,

A group of wealthy New York businessmen have in the past few days pumped more than $3 million into newly-formed super PACs that aim to stop mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani as the prospect of the democratic socialist running City Hall looks increasingly likely, new filings reveal. The last ditch spending blitz comes as the Democratic nominee continues to dominate the mayoral race, with polls showing him holding a double digit lead over his closest competitor, independent candidate Andrew Cuomo.

Elon Musk said he was going to donate to Rep. Thomas Massie in July. As of the end of September, it hasn't happened yet. The Kentucky Republican's campaign filed its latest quarterly report with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, and Musk's name appears nowhere among the various campaign donors listed in the document. The report covers all of the Massie campaign's donations and spending from the beginning of July through the end of September.

Following his inauguration, Gov. Patrick Morrisey's inaugural committee donated most of the leftover money it had collected to a nonprofit organization, which has been buying up Facebook ads to promote his initiatives. Last month, West Virginia Prosperity Group ran a series of advertisements telling people to call Morrisey and thank him for his energy and state budget policies. State law requires leftover money from inaugural committees to be donated either to a charity or a special fund for the governor's mansion.

According to a New York City Campaign Finance Board review and reporting by the New York Post, at least 170 donations came from individuals with foreign addresses - a direct violation of federal, state, and local laws that prohibit non-U.S. citizens or non-permanent residents from contributing to political campaigns. The donations, which include contributions from professionals in Canada, Germany, Australia, and the UAE, raise serious concerns about the legality - and integrity - of Mamdani's campaign operation.