Despite a recent Supreme Court decision to remove the cap on certain federal election campaign contributions, the Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Executive Director said state and federal politics won’t see much change.
Chairman Daniel Logsdon said he believes those that contribute large sums of money already donate more than the old cap allowed through other means.
“If those folks were trying to find a way to put more money into a certain election or to help a certain candidate, there are authorized committees, PACs that candidates have,” Logsdon said. “And then there are unauthorized committees that are supposed to have no connection with the candidates that can take unlimited amounts of money. So you know, frankly, I just don’t see it as that much of an impact.”
Logsdon said he views money as essential in politics but more transparency between political groups and the public is needed. He also said citizens help campaigns in other ways.
“I don’t think that necessarily, money equals speech (…) Obviously, you can write checks, but you can volunteer and help a candidate in other ways,” Logsdon said.
The limit, originally set at $123,200 total per 2-year election cycle, was created to limit private individuals’ influence in politics. The cap of $5,200 per candidate remains.
The decision came 4 years after a controversial Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v Federal Election Commission case that relaxed restrictions on independent expenditures by corporations and other groups. In that instance, spending from independent third parties was deemed protected under the First Amendment.