Campaign Finance Institute

Minnesota has the highest level of participation by small political donors in the country, according to a new study by the Campaign Finance Institute. But that status is threatened by Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s elimination of the state’s Political Contribution Refund program, which the report calls “a big success” and “a much healthier system” that the rest of the country can learn from.

The host committee for the Republican National Convention raised $57 million from corporations and wealthy individuals to put on the lavish four-day gala in St. Paul. What do these special interests expect in return?

A major theme of the presidential campaign was the stunning ability of Barack Obama to tap into an unprecedented universe of donors, many of them outside the realm of fat-cat contributors who typically fill campaign coffers on both sides of the aisle. But according to a new study by the Campaign Finance Institute, donors giving [...]