Why This Matters

The Research is Clear

• Big Money pushes politics rightward. Removing bans on outside spending boosts Republican success and makes state legislatures more conservative. (Abdul-Razzak et al., 2017)

• Voters hate Big Money. 77% of Americans support limits on campaign spending. When people believe money controls politics, they feel unheard and disengage. (Pew Research Center, 2018; Haenschen et al., 2024; Schnakenberg et al., 2023)

• Big Money breaks our party and our government. Outside spending fragments coalitions and undermines effective governance in legislatures. (Norton & Pildes, 2020; Manento, 2019)

Big Money is Bigger than Ever

• Nearly 60% of ads in 2022 Democratic House primaries were funded by outside groups, not candidates (Campaign Legal Center, 2022) 

• Roughly 300 billionaire families in the 2024 federal cycle alone - accounted for nearly a fifth ($3 billion) of all major political contributions, with dozens of individual ultra-wealthy donors explicitly giving $1 million to $100+ million each (Forbes, 2026) 

North Carolina Hasn't Been Spared from Outside Spending

• Outside groups poured roughly $4.5 million into the Democratic primary rematch between incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee and challenger Nida Allam (NC Newsline, 2026)

• Duke Energy's Dark Money Backed Phil Berger's Losing Primary. A super PAC that spent at least $333,000 on television ads supporting North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s unsuccessful primary campaign received $200,000 from a nonprofit funded entirely by Duke Energy Carolinas, the regulated utility subsidiary serving much of the Piedmont and western parts of the state. (Energy & Policy, 2026) 

• Political action committees tied to the AI industry are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Democratic U.S. Valerie Foushee in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District and Republican candidate Laurie Buckhout in the 1st Congressional District (WRAL News, 2026)