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JEB 2016, INC.: DETAILS OF FILING #1047278 COVERS OCT. 1, 2015 THROUGH DEC. 31, 2015 TOTAL RECEIPTS: $7,107,370 TOTAL SPENDING: $9,788,641 ENDING CASH: $7,589,858 OUTSTANDING DEBTS: $155,989 ORIGINALLY FILED JAN. 31, 2016, 10:37 P.M.

RAND PAUL FOR PRESIDENT, INC.: DETAILS OF FILING #1047237 COVERS OCT. 1, 2015 THROUGH DEC. 31, 2015 TOTAL RECEIPTS: $2,077,407 TOTAL SPENDING: $2,931,491 ENDING CASH: $1,270,072 OUTSTANDING DEBTS: $248,368 ORIGINALLY FILED JAN. 31, 2016, 10:13 P.M.

CHRIS CHRISTIE FOR PRESIDENT INC: DETAILS OF FILING #1047222 COVERS OCT. 1, 2015 THROUGH DEC. 31, 2015 TOTAL RECEIPTS: $2,950,344 TOTAL SPENDING: $3,210,633 ENDING CASH: $1,126,158 OUTSTANDING DEBTS: $61,918 ORIGINALLY FILED JAN. 31, 2016, 10:01 P.M.

CARSON AMERICA: DETAILS OF FILING #1046898 COVERS OCT. 1, 2015 THROUGH DEC. 31, 2015 TOTAL RECEIPTS: $22,627,101 TOTAL SPENDING: $27,331,988 ENDING CASH: $6,567,647 ORIGINALLY FILED JAN. 31, 2016, 6:28 P.M.

CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT: DETAILS OF FILING #1046977 COVERS OCT. 1, 2015 THROUGH DEC. 31, 2015 TOTAL RECEIPTS: $20,519,558 TOTAL SPENDING: $15,563,668 ENDING CASH: $18,734,794 OUTSTANDING DEBTS: $862,620 ORIGINALLY FILED JAN. 31, 2016, 7:13 P.M.

Money may be growing tight for four Republican presidential hopefuls clustered under Donald Trump and Ted Cruz - just when they're about to need it the most. Financial reports coming out Sunday will reveal those who began the year with enough cash to put their long-range campaign plans into motion. -snip- The financial health of the campaigns of Christie, Kasich, Bush and Rubio is critically important because they're competing not only with each other, but with Trump, a billionaire who has vowed to spend whatever it takes to win, and Cruz, who began the year with $19 million in the...

This Sunday is the deadline for campaigns and PACs to file their next FEC report, with fundraising and spending numbers covering July 1 through Dec. 31, 2015. This is the first time we've seen numbers from super PACs since June, and a lot has happened since then. We'll be using our Real-Time Influence Explorer to keep track of the filings as they come in, tweeting out interesting and noteworthy insights on Twitter -follow along! Here's a quick rundown of what we can expect from the filing deadline, and some of the things we'll be looking out for: 1. How much...

By now most people are aware of the controversy surrounding Candidate Ted Cruz and his failure to reveal $1.3 million in campaign "loans" from Goldman Sachs and Citibank during his 2012 campaign for the senate. At the heart of the issue is a failure of Ted and Heidi Cruz to list Wall Street "loans" on the required Federal Election Commission financial reports. Together with the campaign officials the Cruz's say the non-reporting was an accidental oversight. However, a watch dog group has now filed a complaint with the FEC which is step one to beginning an FEC investigation. cruz goldman...

How forgetful for a guy with a photographic memory. That story that you funded your campaign with your cashed in assets, it isn't true, you told it so many times and left something big out. This is big trouble for TED since the amount is very large.

Dean Parker was under fire for big spending, including paying himself $20,000 a month. Ben Carson's national finance chairman resigned Thursday amid questions about his use of campaign funds and criticism from Carson allies and donors. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, appointed Parker, a tech industry entrepreneur from Mobile, Alabama, in May to spearhead the campaign’s fundraising efforts. Parker’s been a relatively little-noticed campaign power, having Carson’s ear despite friction with other leaders. Since he joined, some campaign insiders told POLITICO, his operation has piled up unnecessary expenses and paid hefty consulting fees to an inexperienced staff. Parker recently began earning...

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wants the Federal Election Commission to create an exemption that would allow him to spend $600,000 in unspent campaign and PAC funds on personal matters as he retires from office, the Washington Examiner reports. FEC Commissioner Lee E. Goodman labeled the funds an "administrative slush fund" as the extraordinary request was made, the Examiner reports. The Nevada Democrat wants to use the funds "to close out his offices and aid his shift to becoming a former public official still intent on influencing the nation's agenda," the Examiner's Paul Bedard reports. Read Latest Breaking News from...

Two words that make foes of the First Amendment go crazy: Citizens" and "United." Citizens United was the Supreme Court case that ruled the First Amendment applies to everyone: unions, individuals, and corporations supporting their interests through free speech. But the Federal Election Commission has started the process to undo the Citizens United case - and only one day remains for Americans to provide comments asking the FEC to respect the First Amendment.

Carly Fiorina is the real Donald Trump. No, she's not a billionaire with bad hair, a loose tongue and an unbridled ego the size of Australia. But she's a non-politician who's never held office, but is unnerved by the decline of American power and wishes to see it reversed. But unlike Trump she may also be able to do something about it, as she a.) knows how to speak English; b.) is able to think and speak in a rational sequence; c.) has spent years learning how the world works and building relationships with the people who run it; and...

The FEC has opened an inquiry (see pdf below) into Ted Cruz Super-PAC (KtP) and Carly Fiorina Super-PAC (CfA). I’ll just drop this here as a reminder to what we previously said was going to happen; when you know the “splitters” you know the most likely scenario... ....Keep The Promise (KtP) Super-PAC is a pro-Ted Cruz PAC run by David Barton. David Barton is also Chairman of Mercury One Charities (Glenn Beck)... ...Carly For America (CfA) Super – PAC is a pro-Carly Fiorina PAC. The FEC is asking why would Keep The Promise (Ted Cruz PAC) be giving money to...

"Yes, I believe American people are intelligent enough to make decisions," said FEC chairwoman Ann Ravel. The chairwoman of the federal agency responsible for overseeing the nation's campaign finance laws has suggested that federal authorities should help Americans to make "thoughtful" political contributions. The comment came during a Thursday meeting of the Federal Election Commission. The agency was considering whether to issue an advisory decision for an organization called "Democracy Rules" that created a game-like platform for making political contributions. According to the rules of the platform, participants vote for one of a few issues in a given category, like...

Full title: Judicial Watch: FEC Must Investigate Democratic National Committee for Employing Illegal Alien to Craft 2016 Political Message (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission requesting that it investigate the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for having “knowingly hired” an illegal alien, Cindy Nava, to help craft the committee’s 2016 political message and communications. Judicial Watch filed its complaint on August 25, 2015. A June 8, 2015, story in The Washington Post reported that the DNC hired Nava with full knowledge of what DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)...

Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which has struggled to keep costs in check, wants donors to pay for their own food and valet parking at fundraising events, according to a request it filed this month with the Federal Election Commission. The request, released publicly by the FEC on Tuesday afternoon, sketches out a novel accounting plan under which the Clinton campaign would shift some fundraising costs to donors, without counting against their contribution limits. According to the request signed by Clinton’s lead campaign lawyer Marc Elias, Clinton’s presidential campaign “plans to organize and host numerous events throughout the election cycle in restaurants,...

Let's Fire Trump, the Cleveland-based political action committee recently established as a vehicle for attacking Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, might have to change its name. "Your committee's name includes the name of a candidate; however, your committee does not appear to be an authorized committee of that candidate," a senior campaign finance and reviewing analyst for the Federal Election Commission wrote this week in a letter to Jennifer Scofield, the group's treasurer. The analyst warned Scofield that the PAC could face an audit or "enforcement action" if it does not pick a new name or clarify the nature of...

Two of the better-funded GOP candidates for president — Sen. Ted Cruz and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — have sought and received extra time to file mandatory personal financial disclosure statements. Both wrote the Federal Election Commission last week seeking a 45-day extension so they wouldn’t have to file the forms by June 30.

The Federal Election Commission, which is tasked with enforcing campaign finance law, has ordered the Stop Hillary PAC to cease incorporating Mrs. Clinton’s name in its own or face penalties. At issue is a federal rule barring independent groups from incorporating or using the name of a candidate for federal office in their own names. The rule is designed to protect voters from mistaking independent groups such as PACs and super PACs with official campaigns. Dan Backer, a lawyer for Stop Hillary, argues that the word “Stop” in the committee’s name already precludes any confusion and that no supporter of...