Are Super PACs Arms of Political Parties? A Study of Coordination

Abstract

In just two election cycles, “super PACs” have become vehicles for the raising and spending of hundreds of millions of dollars for political campaigns, thanks to a pair of 2010 decisions by the federal courts, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission. The federal courts have removed caps on donors’ contributions under the condition that super PACs would be “independent expenditure-only” committees, avoiding coordination of their activities with potential allies such as candidates or political parties. This change in campaign finance law raises the question of the nature of super PAC independence: Are super PACs only independent in a narrowly legal sense, or do they achieve functional independence as well? In other words, are super PACs actually extended arms of political parties, or do they work at cross-purposes with political parties a significant portion of the time? If the latter, is this evidence of a threat to the traditional role of political parties in campaigns and elections? This paper considers these questions in light of expenditure data from 2012 U. S. Senate con-tests.¹ The findings present a mixed picture: Coordination between super PACs and the two major political parties is apparent, but much more so among the Democratic Party and its super PAC allies. The Republican Party and its super PAC associates show much more evidence of acting at cross-purposes than functional coordination.