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Ben Wieder

CAR Reporter  The Center for Public Integrity
bwieder@publicintegrity.org
RSS feed for Ben Wieder

Ben Wieder is the Computer Assisted Reporter for the Consider the Source project, which tracks the influence of money on state and federal politics. He worked previously at Stateline and interned at the Center in the Summer of 2011. He has also written for the Chronicle of Higher Education and Newsday. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, where he worked in the database library of the National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting, and a bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College.

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

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

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

If you watch TV you've seen an unbelievable number of political ads asking for your vote. Do you know who is paying for those ads, and why?

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

At a glance stats on the Republican Governors Association.

At a glance stats on the Democratic Governors Association.

Dem, GOP associations are spending more than double as much on governors' races in the 2014 cycle than at the same period in 2010.

A map of broadband providers and families in poverty.

A Comcast program provides Internet to some, but not all the nation's poor.

Why are powerful business interests underwriting ads in AG races in the states?

An effort to impose stricter rules on Texas oil and gas operators in 2011 fizzled after the state legislature got involved.

'Puppet states' project required collection of data from 38 states, plus extensive analysis.

Agency fails to explain why normally accessible political disclosures are being withheld.

Nearly $12 million spent by super PACs and nonprofits in 2012-13 state supreme court races.

The names of most social welfare nonprofits don't contain overtly political words.

GOP governors' group outraises counterpart, but Democrats still expected to win a few races.

This year features 36 governors' races; Republicans enter with a big fundraising advantage over Democrats.

The top outside political spender of 2012 is preparing for a busy 2014, with 36 gubernatorial races this year.

National groups poured money into state races.

National unions, business groups focused on states in 2012 elections with unions gaining the edge, new analysis shows.

IMPACT: D.C. man's donations to Delaware governor, Atlanta mayor given to charity following Center story.

Clinton's 2008 campaign received $50,000 from "assembly line of illegal campaign contributions."

Koch fights tougher government rules despite continuing terrorist threat to chemical plants

Maryland podiatrist banned from Medicare in 2007 admits to more fraud under Medicare Advantage

Smithsonian struggles to keep track of American treasures, including Washington's bed

FDA needs more power to police recalls of imported foods

Doctors more likely to turn away children on Medicaid, especially specialists

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