Michael Toner Discusses the Necessity of Super PACs in Future Federal Elections

Michael E. Toner, co-chair of Wiley Rein’s Election Law & Government Ethics Practice, was quoted extensively in an article published November 4 in The Washington Post about federal candidates and the independent groups that support them.  According to the article, this year’s midterm elections have given rise to one-candidate Super Political Action Committees (Super PACs) that support a candidate without directly coordinating with them. 

“Some of the key strategic decisions you need to make when you’re thinking about running are not only about your own campaign but, ‘Who is going to head up a Super PAC for me, and how are they going to raise money?’  ” Mr. Toner said.  “That’s no longer a luxury—that’s necessity,”  Mr. Toner added.  Mr. Toner, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), noted that the FEC’s coordination regulations do not prohibit independent expenditure groups from drawing upon candidate campaign information that is publicly disseminated.  Regarding any attempt by the FEC to prohibit the use of such publicly available campaign information, Mr. Toner stated that he didn’t know “how that would be manageable or constitutional.”   

To read the entire article, click here.