money in politics

November 14, 2014 - The American Petroleum Institute jumped into the outside spending game in the North Carolina state politics this year. Most of its chosen legislative candidates won re-election -- but not all of them. Was outside spending by environmentalists a factor in the losses?

November 3, 2014 - Nearly $7 million has flooded into state-level races in North Carolina from outside spending groups, according to a new analysis by FollowNCMoney.org. Unlike in past years, Democratic-leaning groups are close to matching independent expenditures benefiting Republicans.

October 31, 2014 - In the first year since the demise of the state's judicial public financing program, candidate fundraising and outside spending have pushed the cost of North Carolina court elections to a record high.

October 31, 2014 - Led by the American Petroleum Institute, energy interests are contributing to the outside spending onslaught in North Carolina elections this year. Not surprisingly, their giving overwhelmingly favors anti-regulatory Republicans and Democrats with weak environmental records.

October 29, 2014 - The banjo player that appeared in TV ads for N.C. Supreme Court candidate Paul Newby in 2012 is back with a nearly identical ad promoting another conservative high court hopeful for 2014.

October 24, 2014 - The U.S. Senate race in North Carolina has been getting a lot of attention for the onslaught of spending -- but voters in other Southern states may be feeling even more battered by the big money barrage.

October 17, 2014 - The tidal wave of money flooding into our elections is carrying us further and further from the ideal of "one person, one vote." But outrage over the growing influence of Big Money is sparking innovative efforts for reform.