Republican Super PACs Spending Big In 2012 - East Idaho News
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Republican Super PACs Spending Big In 2012

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Getty 053012 GOPSPSpending?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1338408815354iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The Republican affiliated Super PACs and other outside conservative groups have big spending plans this election cycle. And Democrat aligned outside groups may have a hard time keeping up.

Outside groups like GOP aligned Crossroads GPS, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Americans For Prosperity, the group founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, are planning to spend roughly $1 billion this election cycle, according to a report from Politico.

That almost certainly means these outside groups will spend more than the combined total of the Romney campaign and the Republican National Committee.

Not all of the money will be spent on the presidential race. American Crossroads, the Super Pac affiliated with Crossroads GPS, has focused the majority of their spending so far on Congressional races.

The Democratic groups will spend big too, but nowhere near as much.  Priorities USA — the pro-Obama Super Pac — hopes to raise $100 million, though they appear to be having a difficult time reaching that goal.  Labor unions could spend up to $400 million.

Democrat affiliated Super PACs have trailed Republican Super PACs in spending so far this cycle, but some of that imbalance was inevitable since Republicans had an open presidential primary and Democrats did not.

More telling are the fundraising figures for groups affiliated with both parties. Democrat super PACs have had a tough time staying on par with Republican Super PACs, who are outraising Democrats by huge margins.

According to figures from the Sunlight Foundation, the top three Super PAC fundraisers this cycle are all Republican affiliated. The pro-Romney “Restore Our Future” group reports raising $56.5 million. American Crossroads, the Super PAC arm of the Karl Rove group Crossroads GPS, has raised $29.9 million. The pro-Gingrich “Winning Our Future” group has raised $23.9 million.

The fourth largest Super PAC fundraiser is a Democrat group. The pro-Obama Priorities USA reports raising $10.6 million so far this cycle.

Several other Democratically affiliated Super PACs have raised significant mounts. The AFL-CIO Workers’ Voices PAC reports raising $5.9 million, and another group, American Bridge 21st Century, has raised $5.8 million. Still, the figures trail behind their GOP counterparts.

Liberal donors, including George Soros, plan to donate up to $100 million to outside groups heading into November, according to a report from the New York Times. Even so, Democrats have a lot of ground to gain in order to close the fundraising gap with Republican groups in this area.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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