Illinois changed its law in 2012 to eliminate the $5,300 individual contribution limit if a SuperPac spends more than $100,000 on behalf of a local candidate or $250,000 in a statewide race. The same applies in statewide races when an independently wealthy candidate spends or loans his own campaign more than $250,000, as Republican nominee for Governor Bruce Rauner recently did.
That’s good news for challengers, who bear the greatest burden from individual contribution limits. Without name recognition or a donor network, challengers often need large individual donors to have a chance to beat an incumbent. Flashback for liberals: Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 antiwar challenge to LBJ was financed by a few rich liberals.
The claim is that more money brings quid pro quo corruption. But CCP’s report shows that states with strict contribution limits didn’t see reduced corruption or cleaner politics. According to CCP, the least regulated states are also among the least corrupt states as measured by criminal convictions, including the likes of Oregon, Kansas, Washington and Nebraska.
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