A new Super PAC, Alaskans Standing Together, has launched to support Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in bid to hold her seat. The Sunlight Foundation reports that records from the Federal Election Commission show this to be the first Super PAC receiving money exclusively from corporations. Super PACs are a new development in electoral politics, facilitated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizen’s United, which allowed groups that make independent campaign expenditures to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations or individuals.
Sunlight found that the PAC has received $805,000 in contributions from nine federal contractors. So far, they have spent $595,000 in support of Murkowski. Sunlight’s Ryan Sibly writes, “Alaskans Standing Together filed with the FEC on Sept. 23, 2010, and raised its money in a five day period starting on Sept. 25.”
The nine contractors, all Alaska Native corporations, have received hundreds of millions in federal contracts in just the past year. The PAC’s ads have all criticized Joe Miller, the tea party candidate that beat Murkowski in the Republican primary. Here’s their latest ad:
