SALEM, Ore. - Oregon voters will have a chance to weigh in on the role of money in politics next year.

Among the flurry of legislation passed at the end of this year's session is a resolution to put a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot allowing the state to cap campaign contributions. Oregon is one of five states that have no limits for how much money corporations or individuals can contribute to a political candidate.

Attorney Jason Kafoury, a volunteer organizer for Honest Elections Oregon, said the legislation is historic, noting that Oregon legislative races are the second-most expensive in the nation.

"Putting good limits in place and disclosing who's giving the big money on the independent expenditures will give us a much healthier democracy," he said, "and, I hope, lead to citizens having more of a voice and not just big-corporate and big-money interests."

Another measure that would have specified donation limits failed this session. Advocates for changes to campaign contributions said the limit was too high and there were too many loopholes in the bill.

After Republicans walked out last month over cap-and-trade legislation, Oregonian reporter Rob Davis calculated contributions back to 2009 from companies that would have been affected by the bill. He found that Senate Republicans received more than $117,000, while Senate Democrats received a little more than $43,000 - nearly a three-to-one ratio. Kafoury believes that's the real reason senators walked out, and what pushed legislators to pass this bill.

"The Republicans left twice - once for a tax increase, and once to try to kill this climate bill," he said. "Republicans weren't leaving the state because of moral issues, like abortion or guns. They were leaving because these issues hit right at their big donors' interests."

Republican senators have denied this, saying Democrats are just trying to spin their failure to pass cap-and-trade legislation. They have said the walkout was necessary to defend the economic interests of their rural constituents. The contribution-cap resolution also had support from a handful of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate.

The text of SJR 18 is online at olis.leg.state.or.us.


get more stories like this via email

A handful of Montana bills pushing for partisan judicial elections as part of a broader movement in the state were defeated this month.

Montana law has required judicial elections to be nonpartisan for 90 years, since 1935. Proponents argued partisan elections would be more transparent. Opponents said it is one move in a larger effort to curb judicial power.

Jim Manley was a district court judge in Lake and Sanders Counties until he retired in 2022. He said it is vital judges be respected for their independence.

"Destroying that independence and respect has far-reaching negative effects," Manley contended. "I don't know if some of these politicians don't care about that. But that's the concern among judges and many other people."

He argued electing partisan judges would imply bias in courtrooms and decisions. He noted it could increase electoral spending, which has already skyrocketed in recent years. The Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform, created last year, brought 27 such bills to the current session. Only one has passed so far.

Interest groups have targeted judicial elections because of the hot-button issues they sometimes have to decide. Abortion and the environment are examples.

"You can't just take that authority away from the judicial branch to discipline judges or to determine what they can do," Manley stressed.

The effort to curb judicial power is unpopular. Only 20% of Montanans surveyed earlier this year said courts have too much authority.

Montana's new Supreme Court Chief Justice Cory Swanson, who has a conservative background, urged lawmakers in his 2025 State of the Judiciary address to keep elections nonpartisan and, quote, "reject legislation that will undermine the effective functioning of the judiciary." He said, "It will ultimately harm Montana citizens."


get more stories like this via email

Political maneuvers continue with the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race less than a week away - the latest coming from the White House. In the weeks leading up to the April 1st election, the state has seen partisan-backed campaigns, swirling misinformation and incentives that border on bribes. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reshape state elections - with changes like proof of citizenship requirements - days before Wisconsin voters take to the polls.

Brett Edkins, managing director for policy and political affairs with Stand Up America, says it all reflects the climate stoked by the country's leaders.

"So, it's no surprise that they're trying that playbook again in Wisconsin," he explained. "And what it still comes down to is a really basic question. Do we want a MAGA court in Wisconsin? Do we want a Supreme Court bought and paid for by Elon Musk?"

Groups tied to Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who is overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, have poured about $17 million into backing candidate Brad Schimel, while Susan Crawford's campaign reports a total $24 million in funding, with notable contributions from billionaire George Soros. Overall spending has surpassed all records for judicial races and is expected to reach $100 million.

Most state elections don't garner mass attention, but Edkins says in the battleground swing state, outcomes have national implications.

"Where Wisconsin goes, so goes the country. What's at stake in Wisconsin are ensuring that we have free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028," he added.

The high court has become the referee for some of the most hotly debated election rules, narrowly rejecting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's lawsuit to overturn the 2020 election results. And last year the court reversed gerrymandered maps and restored ballot drop boxes.

Lucy Ripp, communication director with A Better Wisconsin Together, says voters need to cut through the chaos and remember why the election matters.

"The Wisconsin Supreme Court exists to uphold and protect our constitutional rights and freedoms in Wisconsin. And so, it's really important that we pay attention to who we are electing to the court," she said.

Cases about abortion access, the rights of voters with disabilities, noncitizen voting and the legality of drop boxes are just some the high court could see - as well as a lawsuit concerning one of Musk's companies, Tesla.

After Elon Musk, a man once worth $327 billion, spent a quarter billion to elect Donald Trump, he was rewarded with unprecedented powers over the federal government.

Brandon Novick, policy coordinator with the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says blatant corruption in the United States is not new. And it's legal, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court's Buckley versus Valeo ruling in 1976.

"That decision was the root one that said that 'money is speech' and that people can infinitely spend in elections. In Citizen's United, basically the court said based on this, we're saying corporations, not just individuals, can infinitely spend in elections," he explained.

To avoid the appearance of quid pro quo corruption, Novick said the nation's highest court clarified that unlimited spending to influence the outcome of an election is OK, so long as the cash is spent independently and not in coordination with a candidate's official campaign.

Billionaires are not just buying power from Republicans. Novick pointed to Reid Hoffman, who spent some $17 million on the Kamala Harris campaign. When Hoffman called for the Federal Trade Commission's chair Lena Kahn to get the boot, Harris refused to commit to keeping Kahn in her post.

"This issue is bipartisan. The establishments of both parties are not working to solve it. But the current Trump administration is the greatest example of blatant billionaire control bought through bribes in campaign spending," Novik said.

Good-government groups have long argued that in American democracy, one citizen - not one dollar - should equal one vote. Novick said there are only two viable pathways to get money out of politics. The U.S. Supreme Court could overturn previous decisions, which is unlikely since many of today's Justices were involved in Citizen's United.

"The only other way to get past this is a constitutional amendment to overturn their decision and get money out of politics. Because if Congress just passes a law, they'll strike it down," he added.


get more stories like this via email