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Who's buying the Senate?

By Chris Zubak-Skees

Who's buying up TV air time in a race to control the Senate?

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State ad wars tracker

By Chris Zubak-Skees

Who's on the air in state elections?

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Mary Landrieu abandoned on airwaves

By Dave Levinthal

Republicans bombard Democratic senator ahead of U.S. Senate runoff vote.

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Election ads were about issues, says 'Carolina Rising' chief

By Carrie Levine

'Dark money' nonprofit spends millions backing candidate but says ads are about issues.

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Koch-linked organization uses ‘dark money’ to fight political disclosure

By Michael Beckel

Most of the $13 million raised by American Commitment has come three Koch-backed groups.

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Tell us about your experience with political ads

By The Center for Public Integrity

Americans saw more than 2 million TV ads during Election 2014 — did you find them to be informative?

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Nearly 100,000 negative ads helped turn tide in Florida elections

By Michael Beckel, Reity O'Brien and Kytja Weir

Battles over the U.S. Senate and governorships dominated TV commercial breaks.

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Gillespie's rich friends leave him hanging

By Carrie Levine

Consummate GOP insider Ed Gillespie nearly wins Virginia Senate seat, no thanks to his deep-pocketed friends.

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Ballot measure backers spend big, win big

By Liz Essley Whyte

Of the most expensive ballot races, top spenders won over voters in 21 of 25 contests.

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GOP rides cavalry to U.S. Senate majority

By Michael Beckel, Dave Levinthal and Carrie Levine

Super PACs, 'dark money' nonprofits help make Election Day difference as Republicans seize a U.S. Senate majority

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Ad war winners take governors' mansions

By Ben Wieder, Reity O'Brien and Rachel Baye

Three out of four races won by top spending candidates and their allies

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The meanest U.S. Senate races of all

By Chris Kirk and Dave Levinthal

Many of the nation's most competitive U.S. races featured the most negative political advertising.

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Surprise! No. 1 super PAC backs Democrats

By Carrie Levine and Dave Levinthal

To the surprise of many, the top-spending super PAC this election backs Democrats, not Republicans.

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Mega-donors give big to state candidates

By Rachel Baye, Reity O'Brien and Ben Wieder

More than two dozen donors have given at least $1 million to state-level campaigns ahead of Nov. 4.

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U.S. Senate races to attract 1 million TV ads

By Michael Beckel and Dave Levinthal

Super PACs, nonprofits help fuel relentlessly negative messaging in U.S. Senate races.

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Flush with mystery money, Kentucky nonprofit haunts Grimes’ Senate bid

By Michael Beckel

Formerly modest nonprofit becomes deep-pocketed, dark money benefactor of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell.

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Power shifts to outsiders in U.S. Senate fight

By Michael Beckel

Battle for control determined in large part by big-spending super PACs and nonprofits.

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Corporations, advocacy groups spend big on ballot measures

By Liz Essley Whyte

Corporations and national advocacy groups are throwing big dollars behind TV ads before voters decide 158 state ballot measures.

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North Carolina's state of political hate

By Dave Levinthal

North Carolina's U.S. Senate race is the nation's nastiest — and few are particularly friendly affairs.

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Bloomberg helps Democratic governors' group close gap on Republicans

By Ben Wieder

The Republican Governors Association is outpacing its Democratic counterpart but Democrats are catching up.

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Gubernatorial hopefuls outspend U.S. Senate candidates

By Rachel Baye

Thirty-six seats are at stake in the U.S. Senate and 36 governorships are also up for election on Nov. 4.

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Ads in U.S. Senate contests turn nasty

By Dave Levinthal

More than seven in 10 U.S. Senate-focused television ads last week attacked or criticized a political candidate.

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Secretive groups spend millions to influence state elections

By Reity O'Brien

Nonprofits hit TV airwaves with attacks on state-level candidates, gaining traction since the U.S. Supreme Court 'Citizens United' decision.

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Money talks: Key dollar amounts behind the TV ad wars in state elections

By Rachel Baye and Kytja Weir

More than 6,300 state offices are at stake this election. See who is trying to shape the message in the top races.

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Democrats seize air supremacy in Senate battlegrounds

By Dave Levinthal and Michael Beckel

Liberals aired more TV ads last week than their conservative foils in seven of the nine top Senate battlegrounds races.

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Obama takes star turn in state political ads

By Ben Wieder

President and his policies take center stage in political ads, with more than 300,000 mentions, including in lower level state races.

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Eyeballs burn in North Carolina, Iowa ahead of U.S. Senate elections

By Michael Beckel

Last week, North Carolina, Iowa residents saw three political ads focused on contentious Senate elections every five minutes.

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Senate Democrats lead TV ad blitz

By Michael Beckel

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aired more TV ads in key Senate races last week than any other group.

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Non-candidate spending increases in state elections

By Rachel Baye, Reity O'Brien, Kytja Weir and Ben Wieder

TV ad spending in state elections since 2010 is down, but the portion ponied up by political nonprofits and state-level super PACs rises.

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'Outside' groups swamp Florida's airwaves in race for governor

By Rachel Baye

Lax laws allow candidates to work so closely with outside groups, contribution limits become almost irrelevant.

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Pages

Inside this investigation

Writers and editors

John Dunbar

Deputy Executive Editor, Managing Editor, Politics, Finance The Center for Public Integrity
jdunbar@publicintegrity.org

John is director of Consider the Source, the Center's ongoing investigation of the impact of money on state and federal politic... More about John Dunbar

Ben Wieder

CAR Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
bwieder@publicintegrity.org

Ben Wieder is the Computer Assisted Reporter for the Consider the ... More about Ben Wieder

Michael Beckel

Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
mbeckel@publicintegrity.org

Michael Beckel joined the Center for Public Integrity as a politics reporter in February 2012, where his focus is on super PACs, politica... More about Michael Beckel

Reity O'Brien

Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
mobrien@publicintegrity.org

Reity O’Brien is a reporter for the Center's "Consider the Source" money-in-politics coverage, and was the Center’s 16th James R.... More about Reity O'Brien

Chris Young

Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
cyoung@publicintegrity.org

Chris Young is a reporter for the Center’s Consider the Source project, where he covers Washington, D.C.’s “misinformation industry.” Bef... More about Chris Young

Dave Levinthal

Senior Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
dlevinthal@publicintegrity.org

Dave Levinthal joined the Center for Public Integrity in 2013 and leads its Consider the Source project team investigating the influence ... More about Dave Levinthal

Alison Fitzgerald

Senior Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
afitzgerald@publicintegrity.org

Alison Fitzgerald is a finance and investigative reporter who joined the Center in April 2013 to lead its financial and business reportin... More about Alison Fitzgerald

Daniel Wagner

Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
dwagner@publicintegrity.org

Daniel Wagner came to the Center in 2013 from The Associated Press in Washington, D.C.... More about Daniel Wagner

Kytja Weir

Project Manager The Center for Public Integrity
kweir@publicintegrity.org

Kytja Weir joined the Center in 2013, where she is project manager and reporter for the Consider the Source state politics team.... More about Kytja Weir

Erin Quinn

Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
equinn@publicintegrity.org

Erin Quinn is a reporter for the Center’s Consider the Source project, covering Washington, D.C.’s “misinformation industry.” She was pre... More about Erin Quinn

Rachel Baye

Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
rbaye@publicintegrity.org

Rachel Baye is a reporter for the Center’s Consider the Source project.... More about Rachel Baye

Carrie Levine

Politics Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
clevine@publicintegrity.org

Carrie Levine joined the Center for Public Integrity in October 2014 as a federal politics reporter investigating the influence of money ... More about Carrie Levine