In the uncertain world of political campaigns, you can always count on getting questions from the press about fundraising and FEC reports.How do you prepare your staff to answer these questions?Recently, the National Press Club Foundation hosted a panel discussion on how to document campaign cash featuring reporters from national media outlets and campaign finance reform advocacy organizations.Michael Beckel, the manager of research, investigations, and policy for Issue One, shared a helpful tip sheet of questions to ask, resources to use, and patterns to search for when examining campaign data.While the tip sheet is aimed at reporters covering elections, this is a good resource for preparing campaign staff and candidates on what reporters are likely to ask.For example, Beckel encourages reporters to ask these questions:
- How much money did the politician(s) I care about raise?
- How much of that money came from their own funds? Loans or contributions?
- How much of that money came from unitemized ($200 or less) small-dollar donors?
- How much of that money came from PACs?
- How much of their itemized receipts came from in-state donors vs. out-of-state donors?
- Who are the notable donors that gave money?
- Did any lobbyists bundle money for this politician?
- Which industries contributed the most money?
- What portion of money do the top industries account for?
- How much money did the politician(s) I care about spend?
- Which vendors earned the most money?
- What portion of the spending do the top vendors account for?
- Did they pay any family members for services?
- Did they report any debts? If so, whom do they owe money to?
Since many campaigns release their fundraising totals to the media before FEC reports are made public, it is smart to prepare communications, senior campaign staff, and the candidate with answers to many of these questions.Even if you are not working on a federal campaign, state, and local campaign finances still draw media attention. Not only should your campaign be informed about state or local compliance laws, but you also need to prepare those in contact with local media.Regardless if you are working on a federal, state or local campaign, a reporter will likely ask your campaign questions about fundraising and spending. This tip sheet can help you prepare and avoid being blindsided.