The Wall Street Journal reports:
Crossroads GPS raised $15.4 million more than American Crossroads this election season, according to data filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night – a clear signal that big money often prefers to remain anonymous when it comes to politics.
But Crossroads GPS, which brought in $43.2 million, does not have to disclose its donors to the public. American Crossroads, which took in $27.8 million, does.
The two Republican campaign committees have a lot in common: Both have ties to GOP strategists Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie; both were created to advance Republican causes, and the two sent out a single email to report their fund-raising totals. Together, they raised $71 million.
The Washington Post reports:
The newly created independent political groups known as super PACs, which raised and spent millions of dollars on last month's elections, drew much of their funding from private-equity partners and others in the financial industry, according to new financial disclosure reports.
The 72 super PACs, all formed this year, together spent $83.7 million on the election. The figures provide the best indication yet of the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions that opened the door for wealthy individuals and corporations to give unlimited contributions.
...
American Crossroads, a conservative super PAC that outspent its peers, pulled in six- and seven-figure donations from the financial industry. That included $500,000 from Anne Dias-Griffin, founder of the Aragon Global Management hedge fund, and her husband, Kenneth Griffin, founder of the Citadel Investment Group hedge fund.
Crossroads, which was founded with the support of Bush administration adviser Karl Rove, raised $70 million, much of it used to support 10 Republican Senate candidates and 30 Republican House candidates.
