Sludge Turns One
Sludge's investigative journalism on money in politics has had big impacts over the past year. To continue this muckraking work, we're seeking more of our readers to become Sludge Members.
David Moore
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NY Assembly Leaders Get Very Little Dough from Actual Humans in Their Districts
In the wake of the New York Assembly’s surprise punt on creating a public campaign finance system, a new report highlights the extent to which Assembly leaders rely on corporations and out-of-district donors to fund their campaigns.
Announcing SludgeWire
SludgeWire is a new subscription service for news alerts on money in politics, for newsrooms, watchdogs, other issue groups. Get in touch to discuss how you can customize email alerts for everything you're tracking in Congress and in states.
Evaluating the Seattle Democracy Voucher Experiment
A 2017 program showed "democracy vouchers" for Seattle elections doubled the amount of users over traditional cash donors, and that participants were more representative of the city's population in terms of income, race, and age.
NYC Progressives Coalesce Around Campaign Finance Ballot Initiative
A coalition including national money-in-politics groups Every Voice and the public policy organization Demos, as well as good-government groups Reinvent Albany and major labor unions, rallied last week in support of a ballot initiative that seeks to strengthen New York City's campaign finance system
Paul Ryan-Linked Super PAC Dominates Spending in Race to Choose His Replacement
Eighty-six percent of outside spending in the battleground district has come from a Ryan-aligned super PAC, whose rush of fear-mongering immigration ads are funded largely by the billionaire mega-donor Adelsons.
Take (Donors and Lobbyists) Out to the Ball Games
A Sludge data analysis finds that leadership PACs, which are less regulated than candidate committees, are spending on tickets for members of Congress to schmooze with lobbyists and campaign donors.
Impacts of Sludge's Reporting (So Far)
Sludge's investigative journalism has already had impacts to date: a public hearing and new legislation in the NYC Council, an elections complaint submitted by a watchdog group to the New York Board of Elections, donations returned from white supremacist candidates, and more.
Sludge in the News
Selected press, noteworthy links, Tweets and other social media mentions of Sludge's reporting. Documenting our investigative journalism's impacts on the landscape of money in politics.
"Dark Money" Movie Can't Stop Following The Money
"Dark Money", a documentary about shadowy election spending in Montana and transparency in campaign finance, is available online through October 31st on the POV Docs website.