'Jumbo joints': How big will the newest political animals get?
Expect this much from the U.S. Supreme Court's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission ruling: New groups will emerge that allow big-time political donors to fund multiple candidate and party committees with a single check.
It's not yet clear how prevalent these new "jumbo-joint fundraising committees" will become — or if lawmakers or regulators will take any steps to curb their newly granted powers.
But the nation’s largest Republican groups have already formed a new collective fundraising venture to amass money from wealthy donors, as Politico first reported.
Known as the "Republican Victory Fund," the organization can solicit up to $97,200 per donor annually to benefit the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee.
Related: Supreme Court opens door to flood of political cash — again
Prior to McCutcheon, a donor could give no more than $74,600 combined to party committees over a two-year election cycle.
(Update, April 22, 2014, 2:40 p.m.: A "jumbo-joint fundraising committee" has also been created to benefit the campaigns of 19 Republican U.S. Senate candidate. The "2014 Senators Classic Committee" can solicit up to $98,800 per donor — double the amount allowed before the Supreme Court struck down the aggregate contribution limits.)
Democratic Party groups might also create new jumbo-joint fundraising committees to boost their own coffers and their most vulnerable candidates, to say nothing of keeping pace with their GOP counterparts.
For months, campaign finance reform groups have warned of a scenario in which lawmakers ask for $3.5 million donations through jumbo-joint fundraising committees to support every single candidate and national party committee on their side of the partisan divide.
Related: The 'McCutcheon' decision explained — more money to pour into political process
During McCutcheon’s oral argument, Justice Samuel Alito dismissed such examples as a "wild hypotheticals."
There’s more to this story. Click here to read the rest at the Center for Public Integrity.
This story is part of Consider the Source. Seeking to ‘out’ shadowy political organizations flourishing in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.
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Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
