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News in Brief

How Senate Hopefuls Keep Donors Secret From Voters Until It’s Too Late

U.S. Senate campaign finance disclosures are still slow-walked on paper through a 40-year-old system. Is getting it fixed worth trading away another lid on political money?

Derek Willis & Robert Faturechi

News in Brief

What We Talk About When We Talk About Deez Nuts

The historical moment that gave rise to everyone's favorite independent presidential candidate.

Jared Keller

News in Brief

The Influence of a Few: There’s Been a Rapid Rise in the Number of Super PACs Controlled by Single Donors

Super PACS that get nearly all of their money from one donor quadrupled their share of overall fundraising in 2014.

Robert Faturechi & Jonathan Stray

News in Brief

How Political Consultants Took a Texas Oilman on a Wild Ride

The head of a Texas oil dynasty joined the parade of wealthy political donors, aiming to flip the Senate to Republicans. By the time consultants were done with him, the war chest was drained and fraud allegations were flying.

Robert Faturechi

Economics

The Dark Money Man: How Sean Noble Moved the Kochs’ Cash Into Politics and Made Millions

Sean Noble was a former congressional aide just starting as a political consultant when he was recruited to help run the Kochtopus—Charles and David Koch’s multi-layered political network.

Kim Barker & Theodoric Meyer