money in politics

December 3, 2015 - Four charitable organizations led by billionaire libertarian businessman Charles Koch of the Koch Industries oil and chemical conglomerate have given nearly $108 million to colleges and universities since 2005 to advance his brand of unfettered capitalism — and 85 percent went to schools in the South.

November 12, 2015 - Nonprofits, presidential candidates, and others are engaging in legally questionable political fundraising and spending as the government agencies that are supposed to enforce the law do nothing. Good-government groups are pressing for action.

October 30, 2015 - With the rising flood of campaign cash in state supreme court elections, incumbent judges of color are having a harder time winning re-election than white incumbents, a new study finds. How bad is the problem, and what's the solution?

October 15, 2015 - A new Institute report finds that whites make up 95 percent of the state's largest political donors to high-profile contests and account for 97 percent of the big donations.

October 5, 2015 - How does Big Money affect the promise of political equality? An event co-sponsored by the Institute for Southern Studies on Oct. 15 in Durham, N.C. will explore how today's campaign finance system operates as a barrier to equal and meaningful participation in democracy.

August 13, 2015 - After a stint as North Carolina's budget director, discount retail magnate and Republican kingmaker Art Pope is back to spending money on electoral politics.

August 4, 2015 - More than 100 companies have severed ties with the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council, but documents show 54 companies still sponsoring the conservative policy group's annual meeting this summer, including top energy companies and businesses in the South.