money in politics

February 10, 2015 - In a new report, "Tar Heel Power Brokers," Facing South/Institute for Southern Studies ranks the top 101 most influential special interests in North Carolina politics through a combination of lobbying power and political spending in N.C. state-level elections. These four interactive graphics tell the story of these power brokers' influence in state government.

January 16, 2015 - Next week the U.S. celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ended campaign spending limits -- and the two occasions are more closely linked than many realize.

November 14, 2014 - The American Petroleum Institute jumped into the outside spending game in the North Carolina state politics this year. Most of its chosen legislative candidates won re-election -- but not all of them. Was outside spending by environmentalists a factor in the losses?

November 3, 2014 - Nearly $7 million has flooded into state-level races in North Carolina from outside spending groups, according to a new analysis by FollowNCMoney.org. Unlike in past years, Democratic-leaning groups are close to matching independent expenditures benefiting Republicans.

October 31, 2014 - In the first year since the demise of the state's judicial public financing program, candidate fundraising and outside spending have pushed the cost of North Carolina court elections to a record high.

October 31, 2014 - Led by the American Petroleum Institute, energy interests are contributing to the outside spending onslaught in North Carolina elections this year. Not surprisingly, their giving overwhelmingly favors anti-regulatory Republicans and Democrats with weak environmental records.

October 29, 2014 - The banjo player that appeared in TV ads for N.C. Supreme Court candidate Paul Newby in 2012 is back with a nearly identical ad promoting another conservative high court hopeful for 2014.