LLC gifts are making up a bigger share of super PACs’ fundraising hauls

[Jefferson23]

by Will Tucker on March 24, 2016

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A super PAC supporting a candidate to replace departing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has received far more than just $10,000 from limited liability corporations this cycle, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of LLC contributions shows. Nearly one-fifth of Reform Washington‘s funds this cycle have come from entities with “LLC” appended to their names.

Only a slice of the total $161,500 from LLCs appears problematic; corporate giving to super PACs, after the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United, is entirely legal.

But Reform Washington isn’t alone in receiving a significant portion of its funding from business entities. Most notably, the Fund for Louisiana’s Future, which supports Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), received about the same share of its contributions this cycle — 18.4 percent — for a total of $652,500. The super PAC assisted the senator’s unsuccessful run last year to be governor of Louisiana.

And 30 other super PACs have received $25,000 or more from LLCs in the 2016 cycle. That number grew from five in 2010 to 31 in 2012 and to 37 in 2014. The percentage of their total fundraising hauls coming from LLCs is rising, too. In 2010, just two super PACs received more than 10 percent of their total funds from LLCs.

In 2016, the count is up to 14.

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/03/llc-gifts-are-making-up-a-bigger-share-of-super-pacs-fundraising-hauls/