In 2025, the Center for Public Integrity closed its doors. POGO Investigates, the newsroom of the Project On Government Oversight, is preserving this website as an archive. Learn more
If you want to run for president in the U.S. — particularly if you are a Republican —you better have a super PAC on your side. Or be a billionaire. Since the 2010 Citizens United decision, special interest groups are playing a bigger role than ever in how campaigns are financed. The latest government released fundraising reports suggest that this election is already set to break all spending records.