A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.
There are no upper limits on contributions to 527s and no restrictions on who may contribute. There are no spending limits imposed on these organizations; however, they must register with the IRS, publicly disclose their donors and file periodic reports of contributions and expenditures.[1]
Because they may not advocate for specific candidates or coordinate with the candidate’s campaign, many 527s are run by interest groups and used to raise money to spend on issue advocacy and voter mobilization outside of the restrictions on PACs. Examples of 527s include American Solutions for Winning the Future, EMILY's List, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Texans for Truth, The Media Fund, America Coming Together, the Progress for America Voter Fund, Secretary of State Project, United American Technologies, American Right To Life Action and the November Fund. MoveOn.org was previously a 527, until they decided to shut down their 527 group as a result of "new politics offered by Barack Obama".[2]
The line between issue advocacy and candidate advocacy is the source of heated debate and litigation.
Carey et al. v. FEC – RADM James J. Carey, USN (ret), chairman of the National Defense PAC, along with the PAC and a prospective donor, brought suit after the FEC deadlocked on a 2010 Advisory Opinion Request (see AO 2010-20), in which the PAC sought permission to operate a "Super-Duper" PAC, combining an independent expenditure-only PAC and PAC that makes direct contributions to candidates as a single entity for FEC purposes.[8]
An October 2010 Bloomberg poll found that 47 percent of Americans say they would be less likely to support a political candidate if his campaign was supported by advertising paid for by anonymous business groups. 41 percent said that it would not matter, and 9 percent said they would be more likely to back the candidate.[9]
A February 2010 poll from the Pew Research Center found that 68 percent of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision to allow corporations to make expenditures on behalf of candidates during elections. 17 percent approve of the expenditures, and 15 percent of respondents said they were unsure.[10]
The 2004 presidential election was the first time that 527 organizations played such a major role in a campaign. Under federal election law, coordination between an election campaign and a 527 group is not allowed. The heavy spending of key 527 groups to attack presidential candidates brought complaints to the Federal Elections Commission of illegal coordination between the groups and rival political campaigns. These formal complaints included:
Several people who were involved with both organizations removed themselves to avoid the appearance of conflict. Attorney Benjamin Ginsberg pointed out that it was not uncommon or illegal for lawyers to represent campaigns or political parties while also representing 527 groups. For example, Washington attorney Joe Sandler simultaneously represented the Democratic National Committee and a 527 group airing anti-Bush ads, the MoveOn.org Voter Fund.
In 2006 and 2007 the FEC fined a number of organizations, including MoveOn and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, for violations arising from the 2004 campaign. The FEC's rationale was that these groups had specifically advocated the election or defeat of candidates, thus making them subject to federal regulation and its limits on contributions to the organizations.[11]
Some of these listings identify a parent organization that has created a 527 group but that also engages in many nonpolitical activities. Democratic/liberal leaning groups are highlighted in blue, Republican/conservative leaning groups are highlighted in pink.
A total of $415,784,148 was spent by these organizations alone, $201,203,605 of which was spent by Democratic/liberal groups and $214,580,543 of which was spent by Republican/conservative groups.[12][13]
| Rank | Name | 2010 Fundraising | 2010 Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republican Governors Association | $117,129,464 | $131,823,354 |
| 2 | Democratic Governors Association | $55,362,218 | $64,708,253 |
| 3 | American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees | $47,068,586 | $46,520,548 |
| 4 | Republican State Leadership Committee | $29,504,912 | $29,911,967 |
| 5 | American Solutions Winning the Future | $28,233,447 | $28,419,764 |
| 6 | Service Employees International Union | $14,923,663 | $15,534,072 |
| 7 | Citizens United | $9,211,311 | $9,185,145 |
| 8 | EMILY'S List | $9,001,964 | $10,439,329 |
| 9 | America Votes | $8,883,561 | $11,237,974 |
| 10 | Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee | $8,684,721 | $10,949,775 |
| 11 | College Republican National Committee | $8,389,738 | $8,621,662 |
| 12 | National Education Association | $7,394,838 | $7,503,113 |
| 13 | Citizens for Strength and Security | $7,127,814 | $7,216,173 |
| 14 | American Crossroads | $6,700,312 | $1,408,323 |
| 15 | Democratic Attorneys General Association | $6,365,202 | $7,206,207 |
| 16 | GOPAC | $5,600,547 | $5,210,328 |
| 17 | International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $5,354,930 | $6,685,747 |
| 18 | ActBlue | $4,994,165 | $4,719,415 |
| 19 | Laborers Union | $4,578,278 | $4,361,153 |
| 20 | American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees | $4,123,743 | $4,121,846 |
Some of these listings identify a parent organization that has created a 527 group but that also engages in many nonpolitical activities. Democratic/liberal leaning groups are highlighted in blue, Republican/conservative leaning groups are highlighted in pink.
A total of $303,309,245 was spent by these organizations alone, $178,397,267 of which was spent by Democratic/liberal groups and $117,112,322 of which was spent by Republican/conservative groups.[12][13]
| Rank | Name | 2008 Fundraising | 2008 Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republican Governors Association | $58,942,154 | $44,625,517 |
| 2 | Democratic Governors Association | $35,831,960 | $26,376,784 |
| 3 | American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees | $32,867,824 | $30,652,149 |
| 4 | Service Employees International Union | $27,432,667 | $27,839,177 |
| 5 | America Votes | $25,959,173 | $24,491,324 |
| 6 | American Solutions for Winning the Future | $22,722,547 | $22,966,088 |
| 7 | Republican State Leadership Committee | $19,961,136 | $20,981,193 |
| 8 | Change to Win | $13,917,202 | $7,799,656 |
| 9 | EMILY'S List | $13,659,555 | $12,910,515 |
| 10 | The Fund for America | $12,142,046 | $12,142,044 |
| 11 | Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee | $9,989,627 | $12,665,087 |
| 12 | GOPAC | $9,322,764 | $9,407,146 |
| 13 | Patriot Majority Fund | $8,266,627 | $8,108,121 |
| 14 | College Republican National Committee | $6,956,285 | $7,537,976 |
| 15 | RightChange.com | $6,736,563 | $5,578,187 |
| 16 | Democratic Attorneys General Association | $6,704,076 | $5,441,100 |
| 17 | UNITE HERE | $6,480,432 | $6,957,280 |
| 18 | Citizens United | $6,477,080 | $6,016,215 |
| 19 | All Children Matter | $6,031,500 | $3,368,861 |
| 20 | Progressive Majority | $5,743,779 | $7,444,825 |
Some of these listings identify a parent organization that has created a 527 group but that also engages in many nonpolitical activities. Democratic/liberal leaning groups are highlighted in blue, Republican/conservative leaning groups are highlighted in pink.
A total of $171,045,165 was spent by these organizations alone, $121,665,587 of which was spent by Democratic/liberal groups and $49,379,578 of which was spent by Republican/conservative groups.[14][15]
| Rank |
Name | 2006 Fundraising | 2006 Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republican Governors Association | $28,798,367 | $15,993,537 |
| 2 | Service Employees International Union | $25,053,546 | $28,212,510 |
| 3 | Democratic Governors Association | $18,526,787 | $8,508,850 |
| 4 | America Votes | $14,391,893 | $14,106,236 |
| 5 | EMILY's List | $11,776,201 | $11,128,005 |
| 6 | Republican State Leadership Committee | $11,340,863 | $10,132,510 |
| 7 | American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees | $9,599,404 | $8,336,574 |
| 8 | Club for Growth | $7,217,080 | $8,157,383 |
| 9 | Change to Win | $7,061,423 | $2,592,376 |
| 10 | Progress for America | $6,175,025 | $13,000,574 |
| 11 | International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $5,538,113 | $5,529,067 |
| 12 | September Fund | $5,230,500 | $4,950,861 |
| 13 | Economic Freedom Fund | $5,050,450 | $4,835,805 |
| 14 | America Coming Together | $4,494,107 | $6,998,238 |
| 15 | Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee | $4,365,495 | $3,928,487 |
| 16 | Democratic Attorneys General Association | $4,083,576 | $2,630,350 |
| 17 | College Republican National Committee | $3,720,110 | $10,260,343 |
| 18 | Laborers' International Union of North America | $3,688,250 | $3,762,110 |
| 19 | Progressive Majority | $3,262,427 | $4,845,486 |
| 20 | Bluegrass Freedom Fund | $3,150,125 | $3,135,863 |
| As of June 30, 2008. Source:[14] Source:[15] | |||
Some of these listings identify a parent organization that has created a 527 group but that also engages in many nonpolitical activities. Democratic/liberal leaning groups are highlighted in blue, Republican/conservative leaning groups are highlighted in pink.
A total of $439,709,105 was spent by these organizations alone, $307,324,096 of which was spent by Democratic/liberal groups and $132,385,009 of which was spent by Republican/conservative groups.[12][13]
| Rank | Name | 2004 Fundraising | 2004 Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | America Coming Together | $79,795,487 | $78,040,480 |
| 2 | Joint Victory Campaign 2004* | $71,811,666 | $72,588,053 |
| 3 | Media Fund | $59,414,183 | $57,694,580 |
| 4 | Service Employees International Union | $48,385,367 | $47,695,646 |
| 5 | Progress For America | $44,929,174 | $35,631,378 |
| 6 | Republican Governors Association | $33,848,421 | $34,301,889 |
| 7 | Democratic Governors Association | $24,172,761 | $24,125,938 |
| 8 | American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees | $22,227,050 | $22,332,587 |
| 9 | Swift Vets and POWs for Truth | $17,008,090 | $22,565,360 |
| 10 | MoveOn.org | $12,956,215 | $21,565,803 |
| 11 | College Republican National Committee | $12,780,126 | $17,260,655 |
| 12 | New Democrat Network | $12,726,158 | $12,524,063 |
| 13 | Citizens for a Strong Senate | $10,853,730 | $10,228,515 |
| 14 | Republican State Leadership Committee | $10,762,907 | $10,682,312 |
| 15 | Club for Growth | $10,645,976 | $11,943,415 |
| 16 | Sierra Club | $8,727,127 | $6,261,811 |
| 17 | EMILY's List | $7,739,946 | $8,100,752 |
| 18 | Voices for Working Families | $7,466,056 | $7,202,695 |
| 19 | AFL-CIO | $6,583,572 | $6,473,110 |
| 20 | League of Conservation Voters | $6,049,500 | $5,078,116 |
| As of June 30, 2008.[12][13] | |||
*Joint Victory Campaign 2004 is a joint fund-raising committee run by America Coming Together and the Media Fund. Money raised by JVC is divided between these two beneficiaries. Combining receipts for these three groups would result in double-counting.
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