Campaign Money Watch

Last updated

Campaign Money Watch is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan political activist organization, organized as a 527 group. It is primarily known for ads it ran against Republican candidate John McCain in the run up to the 2008 United States presidential election. The group takes in funding from labor unions such as the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

John McCain American statesman and military officer

John Sidney McCain III was an American statesman and United States Navy officer who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama.

In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC has been created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. This term is quite specific to all activities of campaign finance in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002, and the new legal limits became effective on January 1, 2003.

2008 United States presidential election 56th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior U.S. Senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior Senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American ever to be elected to the presidency, as well as being only the third sitting United States Senator elected president, joining Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy.

Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency. Although most campaign spending is privately financed, public financing is available for qualifying candidates for President of the United States during both the primaries and the general election. Eligibility requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for a government subsidy, and those that do accept government funding are usually subject to spending limits on money.

Cindy McCain American philanthropist

Cindy Lou Hensley McCain is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and humanitarian. She is the widow of United States Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain from Arizona and the mother of television host and commentator Meghan McCain.

John McCain 2008 presidential campaign 2008 Presidential campaign of John McCain

The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman, and formally launched at an event on April 25, 2007. His second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, he had previously run for his party's nomination in the 2000 primaries and was considered as a potential running mate for his party's nominee, then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas. After winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries of 2008, on August 29, leading up to the convention, McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate for Vice President. Five days later, at the 2008 Republican National Convention, McCain was formally selected as the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election.

The United States presidential debates of 2008 were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization that sponsored four debates that occurred at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008. Three of the debates involved the presidential nominees, and one involved the vice-presidential nominees.

This article compares the presidential candidates in the United States' 2008 presidential election. It does not cover previous elections. Because of ballot access restrictions in the United States, not all candidates appeared on the ballots in all states.

2000 Republican Party presidential primaries

The 2000 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Texas Governor George W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2000 Republican National Convention held from July 31 to August 3, 2000, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign Campaign for the presidency of the United States

The 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, was announced on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, on August 23, leading up to the convention, the campaign announced that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware would be the vice presidential nominee. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 27, Barack Obama was formally selected as the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States in 2008. He was the first African American in history to be nominated on a major party ticket.

Democratic and liberal support for John McCain in 2008

Senator John McCain, the Republican Party nominee, was endorsed or supported by some members of the Democratic Party and by some political figures holding liberal views in the 2008 United States presidential election. McCain Democrat and McCainocrat are terms applied to Democrats who supported McCain.

Rick Davis (political consultant)

Richard H. Davis, Jr. is an American political consultant. He previously served as a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Pegasus Capital Advisors L.P., a private equity firm specializing in sustainable development projects. He was a managing partner of the business development and public affairs consulting firm Davis-Manafort, located in Alexandria, Virginia. He is best known for being the National Campaign Manager of John McCain's 2008 Presidential campaign. In that capacity, he oversaw the development and implementation of all campaign strategy and policy development. Davis also served McCain as National Campaign Manager for his 2000 Republican Presidential Primary campaign.

Steve Schmidt American political communication strategist

Stephen Edward Schmidt is an American communications and public affairs strategist who has worked on Republican political campaigns, including those of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arizona Senator John McCain.

Political positions of John McCain

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a member of the U.S. Congress from 1983 until his death in office in 2018, a two-time U.S. presidential candidate, and the nominee of the Republican Party in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, took positions on many political issues through his public comments, his presidential campaign statements, and his senatorial voting record.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, corrections officers, sanitation workers, police officers, firefighters, and childcare providers. Founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1932, AFSCME is part of the AFL–CIO, one of the two main labor federations in the United States. AFSCME has had four presidents since its founding.

Joe the Plumber American conservative activist and commentator

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, known as Joe the Plumber, is an American conservative activist and commentator. He gained national attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential election when, during a videotaped campaign stop in Ohio by then Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher raised concerns that Obama's tax policy would increase taxes on small business owners. Wurzelbacher is a member of the Republican Party.

2010 United States Senate election in Arizona

The 2010 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 2, 2010, along with other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on August 24, 2010. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, who returned to the Senate after losing the presidency to then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, ran for reelection to a fifth term and won.

2008 United States presidential election in South Carolina

The 2008 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 8 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

References

  1. "The Campaign Money Watch file". PolitiFact.com .
  2. "Campaign Money Watch". National Public Radio.
  3. Ben Smith (October 25, 2008). "Campaign Money Watch vs. McCain on gambling". The Politico.
  4. "Organized labor provides the money behind one of John McCain's toughest critics". Los Angeles Times . October 17, 2008.