Influence and Money

Follow The Money

Nevada Lobbyists

76th Session (2011)

Assessment of Nevada's Lobbyist Spending

Money Fact
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spends more money on lobbying than any other business in America, outspending the second largest spender by 300% and 779% by the 20th biggest spender.

Find The Money in My District

Download the Citizen's Guide to Federal Campaign Finance Law

The law limits the amount of money you may contribute and prohibits certain people and organizations from making contributions. This guide explains how to be in compliance with federal law.

Lobbyist Influence

In the table below, the "rank" column tells how Nevada compared to all 50 states in 2011. A rank of 15 in the "Percent to Democrats" category, for example, means that state's percentage of contributions to Democrats was the 15th highest in the nation.

† This figure includes PAC contributions to candidates, individual contributions ($200+) to candidates and parties, and Levin fund contributions to parties. To avoid double-counting, it does not include individual contributions to PACs.

* This figure includes individual contributions to candidates, PACs and party committees.

All the numbers in this table are based on Federal Election Commission data released electronically on January 02, 2012.

Performance on the Issues

How Nevada Compares

Do you know where you're spending your money?

Citizens United - The Court Decision Heard Around The World

On January 21, 2010, the United States Supreme Court overruled the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and granted, for the first time, granted corporations unlimited spending on political elections.

The ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, No. 08-205, overruled two precedents: Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, a 1990 decision that upheld restrictions on corporate spending to support or oppose political candidates, and McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, a 2003 decision that upheld the part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 that restricted campaign spending by corporations and unions.

The opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, said that limitation of donations is a restriction of free speech and that unlimited money spent on candidates does not buy influence.

Read the opinion in its entirety.

Campaign Finance Links

Annenberg Public Policy Center
The site of the University of Pennsylvania-affiliated research center provides information on the role of advertising and the media in federal politics, including the use of 'issue ads' in campaigns.
Campaign Disclosure Project
A collaboration of the UCLA School of Law, the Center for Governmental Studies and the California Voter Foundation, the project classifies and evaluates campaign disclosure laws of the 50 states, and designs and promotes a set of uniform standards and model laws.

Campaign Finance Information Center
The Investigative Reports and Editors’ site contains archives of campaign finance stories from around the country, databases, lists of experts, links and other reporting tools.
Center for Public Integrity
The non-partisan investigative research group’s site provides reports on the money behind state and federal elections.

Federal Election CommissionThis site contains images of hard copies of campaign finance reports by candidates, parties and PACs and other information from the U.S. agency that oversees campaign finance laws.
Internal Revenue Service’s 527 Group Disclosure Site
This site contains campaign finance reports filed by groups organized under Section 527 of the tax code.
Project Vote Smart
This site juxtaposes campaign contributions for more than 13,000 candidates and elected officials nationwide with voting records and evaluations by special interest groups.
National Institute on Money in State Politics
The nation's most complete resource for information on money in state politics (governors, ballot initiatives, state legislators and more) -- much like OpenSecrets.org does on the federal level.
Thomas: Congress' Official Site
Includes searchable databases for bill status, sponsors of legislation, and committee actions. Congressional Record online, plus links to member and committee home pages, are also here.