archive

September 8, 2008 Veteran Democratic political consultant Craig Varoga is running a network of 527 organizations, with names like Patriot Majority, aimed at helping Democrats in Senate, House and gubernatorial races this year.

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August 26, 2008 Formed in 2007, Freedom's Watch was seen as the conservative counterpart to Moveon.org and spent $15 million on an ad campaign backing President Bush's troop "surge" strategy in Iraq. Lately, it has shifted its attention toward congressional elections.

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August 22, 2008 Representing 3.2 million employees of schools and educational institutions, the National Education Association calls itself the largest professional employee organization in the country. It has plans for the biggest political mobilization in its history this year, spending tens of millions of dollars on the presidential and congressional races.

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August 20, 2008 American Future Fund is a 501(c)(4) led by a collection of professionals who worked for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The fund advocates free-market policies, offshore oil drilling and the development of nuclear energy. It's focusing its efforts on competitive Senate races.

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August 12, 2008 AFL-CIO is a federation of 56 unions, representing 10.5 million members. The federation has dedicated $53 million and 200,000 volunteers for a voter mobilization campaign this election season, its largest effort ever.

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August 12, 2008 Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens is running a multi-million-dollar advocacy campaign aimed at reducing the United States' dependence on foreign oil. Though Pickens wants the plan to be carried out by private industry, he is calling on the next president and Congress to help make it happen.

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August 4, 2008 America Votes is an umbrella group formed in 2004 to coordinate the efforts of liberal groups trying to defeat President Bush. Other than SEIU, it raised and spent more money than any other political action committee in 2006.

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August 4, 2008 As a conservative group, the Club for Growth's goals include making President Bush's tax cuts permanent. This year, the group has been active in congressional races but has not decided whether to support GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

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August 4, 2008 Founded in 1916 as the first U.S. birth control clinic, Planned Parenthood provides health centers around the country and advocates for reproductive rights. The organization's action fund has endorsed Obama.

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August 4, 2008 Formed in 2006 by Iraq war veterans, VoteVets opposes the Bush administration's handling of the war and backs mostly Democratic veterans running for Congress.

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August 4, 2008 Majority Action ran ads against Republicans in the 2006 election cycle and focused on helping Democrats take control of the House. In the 2008 cycle, it will concentrate on Senate races.

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