Nearly a quarter of every dollar raised by the Big 4 super PACs
in 2025 came from affiliated "dark money" groups -- up 65% from 2024, according to new data released this week by cross-partisan political reform group Issue One.
“Voters of all parties
lose when wealthy donors and special interests use huge dark money contributions to buy access and influence with lawmakers,” Director of Money in Politics Reform Michael Beckel writes
in the analysis, noting: “When super PACs accept massive
sums of dark money, it undercuts the principle of transparency that serves as the foundation of our anti-corruption laws.”
As noted in my recent "Dark Political" presentation at MediaPost's Marketing Politics Conference, it has
been 16 years since the High Court's Citizens United ruling fundamentally altered American politics by allowing such anonymous funding of political campaigns in the U.S.
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Based on data from the
Brennan Center, total dark money funding reached $1.9 billion in 2024 -- up 90% from 2020 -- and Issue One's new analysis suggests the delta may be growing.
While explicit data on how the Big
4 super PACs utilize that funding isn't readily available, the vast majority of it goes into political media buys.
"If a super PAC doesn't spend the bulk of its funds on advertising, that
might raise questions about its legitimacy," Beckel tells "Red, White & Blog," adding: "Some super PACs have been known to support canvassing operations or on-the-ground events, but a super PAC
that overwhelmingly spends money on fundraising operations might be a scam PAC."