A flood of last-minute donations -- many directly from corporations -- helped American Crossroads, the biggest spending super PAC this year, stay on the political offense through Election Day.
During the final days before the 2010 midterm elections, American Crossroads, a conservative organization heavily supported by former George W. Bush aide Karl Rove, raised a staggering $3.8 million, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of the group's "post-general" campaign finance report, which was filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.
Spokesman Jonathan Collegio also said Thursday that a sister group, Crossroads GPS, took in about $43 million this year. Because it is organized as a nonprofit, the second group does not have to reveal its donors.
"After a successful 2010, we are shifting toward our goals for 2011 and beyond," Collegio said, adding that the Crossroads duo will be "active throughout 2011 in support of a conservative, free-market legislative agenda."
The disclosures came amid a wave of reports from political committees and organizations that were filed Thursday at the FEC, covering the period from just before the Nov. 2 elections through Nov. 22.
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On the expenditure side, the American Crossroads umbrella reported spending nearly $40 million during the elections, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was close behind at more than $31 million. Neither of those numbers fully accounts for the groups' total spending, however, since many disbursements do not have to be reported to the FEC.
