OBAMA HAUL. WP. “An initiative backed by former president Barack Obama to end Republican control of legislative maps by targeting state-level contests has raised more than $10.8 million this year.”
SUPER PAC EDGE. NBC. “With their gazes already trained toward 2018 midterm elections — and even the 2020 presidential race — conservative super PACs are this year pummeling their liberal counterparts in fundraising, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of new Federal Election Commission filings.”
TOUGHEN FARA? Hill. “Lawmakers called for strengthening laws on how the Department of Justice (DOJ) regulates foreign lobbying efforts at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.”
CA: TOUGH RESTRICTIONS PASSED. LAT. “Anaheim elected officials and workers will be barred from lobbying the city for two years after they leave their jobs under a new ‘sunshine ordinance,’ the strictest restriction on government lobbying in Orange County.”
NM: PUBLIC FINANCING ADVENTURE. ABQ. “Albuquerque’s Board of Ethics voted 7-0 Monday to investigate a complaint alleging that City Council candidate Javier Benavidez used fraudulent tactics to obtain about $38,000 in public campaign financing.”
NY: “MATCHING FUNDS FOR DUMMIES.” CS. “The Campaign Finance Board implemented it to encourage those running for office to engage with voters rather than seek large contributions from wealthy social interests. The program matches contributions between $10-$175 from New York City residents. Funds are reciprocated at a $6-to-$1 rate, so if someone donates $175, it will be matched at $1,050.”
OH: KASICH A PLAYER. TR. “Kasich has continued to travel the nation to press his positions, particularly on preserving the Medicaid expansion of health care coverage for the low-income, with the financial support of the super PAC that supported his presidential bid.”
TX: SOROS PLAYS. WE. “With the help of hedge fund billionaire George Soros, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee hopes to wrest control from voters of congressional re-districting in 2021 when booming conservative states such as Texas will gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. All for the benefit of their special-interest donors.”
TX: BIG CHECKS COMMON. CHRON. “Though rare in Texas politics, the delivery of a single, seven-figure check — which the Porters presented to Abbott at his Austin campaign office when they met him for the first time in late June — is part of a growing national trend toward seven-figure donation checks, say experts who follow political money-giving.”
UT: SUPER PACS COMPETE. UP. “Two more super PAC’s have joined the fray in the GOP 3rd District primary.”
UK: MP/LOBBYIST. GUA. “Sheerman’s registration raises questions about the role of MPs and whether they should be lawmakers and lobbyists.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.