Because candidates are having more and more trouble with small-dollar fundraising, super PAC money could be even more important as the cycle continues. | Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesThey’re using novel financial arrangements, like taking “bridge funding” in the form of undisclosed de facto loans from major donors or receiving ad revenue from a candidate’s podcast. They’re also continuing to take advantage of long standing loopholes in anti-coordination guidelines.
“As long as super PACs remain relatively under regulated in the way that they have been, the consultants who work for them and for various campaigns are going to continue trying to push the envelope using them in creative ways,” said Saurav Ghosh, director for federal campaign finance reform at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. “Because there seems to be very little risk in pushing against the supposed legal limits.
The expanded role for outside groups has been accompanied by new fundraising tactics and financial relationships. Ahead of a competitive U.S. Senate race in Texas, iHeartMedia, which is home to a podcast hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a super PAC backing Cruz, Truth and Courage PAC. An iHeartMedia spokesperson, Rachel Nelson, confirmed to POLITICO that the donations came from a portion of the podcast’s ad revenue. The payments