Friday, February 25, 2011

How much did Art Pope and his co-conspirators spend to flip the General Assembly? The pro-business NC FreeEnterprise Foundation has crunched more numbers and concludes, “The total amount spent by 11 outside groups vying to influence the outcome of elections for the State Legislature was $2,635,297.86, with nearly 92 percent of those funds being used to support Republican candidates.” The 10-to-1 ratio for Republicans is unprecedented in modern times. NCFEF provides several detailed charts with its updated release from a few weeks ago. Pundits across the political spectrum agree with NCFEF’s assessment: “Overall, it is safe to say that outside spending played a pivotal role in North Carolina’s 2010 legislative elections. Considering the impact, and the increasing competitive political nature of the state, it is also a safe bet that we will see continued growth in independent expenditure and electioneering communication activities in elections to come.”