News Headlines

Outside Campaign Dollars Flow into Va. From Right

Posted: 8:00 AM Sep 6, 2012
Reporter: Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- If you're feeling buried by nasty political ads from your television, there's good reason.

A Virginia Public Access Project analysis shows that independent groups have already bought more than $37 million worth of those attack ads for this year's campaigns in swing-state Virginia.

The VPAP analysis shows that about half of the independent groups that have put money into the races don't disclose their donors.

Conservative and pro-Republican groups have put up three times the cash as liberal or pro-Democratic ones.

Sibling groups from the right guided by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove together account for half the spending. Crossroads GPS, which doesn't disclose its donors, has spent $12.6 million, or 33 percent of the total; American Crossroads, which does disclose, spent $6 million, or 16 percent.