Skip to content
Subscriber Only

Secret Campaign Cash Gushes Into U.S. State and Local Elections

  • Brennan Center study tracked anonymous spending in six states
  • Dark money is closely tied to specific benefits for the givers
A sign hangs on a polling place door on May 3, 2016, in Whiting, Indiana.

A sign hangs on a polling place door on May 3, 2016, in Whiting, Indiana.

Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Secret campaign cash from groups that aren’t supposed to coordinate with candidates has over recent election cycles poured into state and local races where the impact can be much greater than at the federal level, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The New York-based nonprofit law and policy institute researched spending by outside groups in six states between 2006 and 2014. Instances in which donors could be clearly identified fell to 29 percent from 76 percent on average after a landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited and anonymous spending, according to the study released Sunday, billed as the first of its kind.