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The increase in dark money being used by top Democratic committees is particularly notable this cycle due to the loosening of restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC in 2010 and other court decisions. As a result, there has been a dramatic surge in spending from politically active nonprofit organizations—including both 501(c)(4)s and trade associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—and other entities that don’t have to disclose their donors. In the 2020 cycle, the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have combined to bring in $243 million in dark money donations compared to $36 million in the 2016 cycle, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis. The Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee have collected $152 million in such funds so far in 2020, compared to $17 million at this same time in the prior election cycle.
