Washington, D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court announced it will consider whether political parties and their candidates can coordinate their spending during elections. The decision to take up this case is the latest in a long string of campaign finance cases since Citizens United v. FEC that have undermined basic safeguards against corruption and deepened the influence of big money in our democracy.  

“Since the Citizens United decision opened the floodgates of dark money 15 years ago, we’ve seen how wealthy billionaires can buy influence and power at the expense of everyday people. This court has shown again and again that it is hostile to campaign finance reform and blind to the consequences, and its decision to take up this case is just the latest example,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause. “Common Cause has long led the fight to get big money out of politics and was a driving force behind the Federal Election Campaign Act, which established these coordinated spending limits 50 years ago. Today, we need a new national conversation about money in politics, but that conversation should be led by the people and Congress, not a court that treats democracy like an afterthought. Striking down one of the last guardrails in our campaign finance laws is not a solution. It’s surrender.” 

Limits on coordinated spending between candidates and political parties are one of the few remaining pillars of campaign finance law. At the federal and state levels, Common Cause is leading legislation to curb the outsized influence of super PACs and dark money by strengthening disclosure rules, expanding public financing, and rethinking how political parties can play a more constructive role in campaigns. 

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