CAMPAIGN FUNDS—WHAT TO DO WITH $$$ AFTER THE ELECTION

http://www.wisconsinreporter.com/after-race-is-run-lots-of-leftovers-in-wi-campaign-finances

Wisconsin Reporter – Ryan Ekvall – 2/6/2012

MADISON — In 2010, Sen. Russ Feingold raised $13.7 million in his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate.

The long-serving Democrat lost, but he finished with more than $900,000 on hand.

In Feingold’s case, after contributing some $400,000 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin his committee reformed into Progressives United, a political action committee, or PAC, designed to “stand up against exploding corporate influence in Washington.”

“The day-to-day reality in politics is that it comes down to the ambitions of individuals,” he said. “There is a legal structure in what you can and can’t do. It’s mostly boring stuff that goes from a screaming madness to a snooze over at the FEC.”

“Converting to a PAC means that you can distribute the money to candidates based on your own preferences, while giving it to the party leaves that decision in their hands,” Ken Mayer, professor of political science at UW-Madison, wrote in an email.

Today, nearly 400 leadership PACs exist, some created by freshmen members of Congress. When lawmakers retire, that leadership PAC money goes with them . . .

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