Campaign Finance

State's Political-Spending Rules Fail To Make The Grade - Again

Brian Wallstin — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:32:44 +0000

New Hampshire's campaign-finance regulations are a jumble of contradictions, a fact that people who study the issue never fail to point out.

A year ago, a consortium of good-government types awarded the Granite State a "D" for political financing, citing how easy it is for donors to get around the dollar limits on contributions.

Last week, a campaign-finance watchdog group weighed in, and once again New Hampshire found itself at the bottom of the class.

The Return Of Campaign Finance Reform

Laura Knoy — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

After an election that saw unprecedented amounts of money spent – the call for limits has come up again, whether on dollar amounts…or more disclosure, so voters will know who’s funding what. But these efforts, including one recently in New Hampshire, often bump into a variety of concerns. We’ll look at the state of campaign finance in the Granite State.

Guests:

The Impact of “Citizens United” on the 2012 Elections

Laura Knoy — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Early on, predictions were that this twenty-ten U.S. Supreme Court decision would lead outside groups to play an outsized role in our elections, by allowing unlimited political spending. But now, some question how big an impact Citizens United really had. We’ll look at this debate in New Hampshire.

Guests

Hassan's Win Powered By $11 Million In Outside Spending

Brian Wallstin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:29:50 +0000

By the time her victory over Ovide Lamontagne in the 2012 governor's race was in the books, Maggie Hassan had raised more than $1.9 million in contributions from some 7,550 individual donors.

Pres. Obama and Romney Escalate Ad War In New Hampshire

Brian Wallstin — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:24:00 +0000

Five days before the Nov. 6 election, Republican nominee Mitt Romney and independent groups that support the presidential candidate are poised to outspend President Barack Obama on television ads targeting New Hampshire voters.

A review of television contracts filed this week with Federal Communications Commission show that the pro-Romney team reserved about $947,000 in air time from Oct. 29 through Election Day on WMUR, WBZ and WHDH.

Meanwhile, the Obama for America campaign reserved about $653,000 in air time on the three stations during the final week of the campaign.

N.H. Congressmen Lag In Campaign Fundraising

Associated Press — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:30:23 +0000

The latest campaign finance reports show New Hampshire's Republican congressmen lagging behind their Democratic challengers in fundraising.

Outside Spending on New Hampshire Governor's Race Continues To Rise

Brian Wallstin — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:17:30 +0000

In what will likely be the most expensive gubernatorial campaign in New Hampshire history, independent political groups supporting candidates Maggie Hassan and Ovide Lamontagne have reserved nearly $7.5 million worth of television ads in the final month of the election.

New Filings Show Finances for Candidates, But Not For Independent Groups

Brady Carlson and Brian Wallstin — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:12:12 +0000

The political ad barrage is here. Watch a TV show or check out a YouTube video and you’re likely to see the commercials. Same goes for fliers in the mail or yard signs on street corners.

Those ads and signs mean campaign money is flowing into the state, and this past Wednesday, New Hampshire candidates filed their latest campaign finance reports.

NHPR correspondent Brian Wallstin joins All Things Considered host Brady Carlson with a little of what’s in those reports.

Outside Spending Plays Large Role In N.H. Campaigns

Brian Wallstin — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:23:23 +0000

In the days leading up to the Sept. 11 primary, a Manchester-based political action committee called New Hampshire Republicans for Freedom and Equality launched a direct-mail campaign to support the re-election of 40 Republican House members who helped turn back efforts to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law.

New Hampshire's Campaign Finance Debate

Laura Knoy — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:11:16 +0000

After the U.S. Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision two years ago, state campaign finance laws have come under scrutiny. Now, the N.H. Attorney General has weighed in saying state restrictions on certain political donation no longer apply. We get reaction to this change, and what it means for future elections.

Guests

Larry Noble – CEO and president of Americans for Campaign Reform, working to enact public funding of all federal elections

Gov. Candidate Kevin Smith Collects on LLC Loophole

Brian Wallstin — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:52:34 +0000

No candidate in the 2012 gubernatorial race benefited more from a major loophole in New Hampshire's political-finance regulations than Republican Kevin Smith.

Most N.H. Candidates Don't File Finance Reports Electronically

Brian Wallstin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:45:15 +0000

Campaign finance disclosures are a bedrock principle of open government, which assumes that citizens have the right to know who is paying, and how much, to affect the outcome of an election.

Candidate Filings Only Part of Election Money Picture in New Hampshire

Brady Carlson and Brian Wallstin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:24:38 +0000

The candidates for governor are touting their fundraising ahead of Wednesday's midnight deadline to submit campaign finance.

What we know so far: Republican Ovide Lamontagne says his campaign raised about $1.2 million dollars. Democrat Maggie Hassan, $930,000; Democrat Jackie Cilley about $281 thousand dollars. No word as of Wednesday afternoon from Republican Kevin Smith.

That's what we know; but there’s a lot we don’t know about campaign money. And many election observers say a lot of campaign money won’t ever show up in candidate reports anyway.

Most Campaign Money Remains Hidden In New Hampshire

Brian Wallstin — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:22:15 +0000

With the 2012 primary less than three weeks away, candidates for state office in New Hampshire have until midnight Wednesday to file their first campaign finance reports with the Secretary of State's office.

Why Lobbyists Dodge Calls From Congressmen

Andrea Seabrook — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:08:00 +0000

This story is part of our series on money in politics.

We imagine the lobbyist stalking the halls of Congress trying to use cash to influence important people. But it doesn't always work that way. Often, the Congressman is stalking the lobbyist, asking for money.

Lawmakers of both parties need to raise millions of dollars per election cycle.