Campaign spending by outsiders tops $100M

Campaign spending by outsiders tops $100M

Boosted by super PACs, spending by outside groups in the 2012 presidential campaign has topped $ 100 million.

A new analysis by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics shows spending by super PACs, political parties and other outside groups such as unions is nearly $ 100.1 million through Monday.

The latest figures dwarf the outside spending in the 2008 and 2010 election s made over the same period. Much of the money pays for independent expenditures, the ads and mailers that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate.

The key factor: a 2010 Supreme Court decision that paved the way for unlimited spending by wealthy individuals, unions and others.

In the 2012 election, super PACs have spent $ 84.6 million. Nearly half of that amount -- $ 40.2 million -- has been spent by Restore Our Future, the independent group backing Mitt Romney for president.

By comparison, Winning Our future (the pro-Newt Gingrich group) has spent about $ 16.5 million.

The center found that 169 out of 551 registered outside groups and political parties are responsible for the spending to date. Super PACs cannot coodinate their activities with the candidate they support.

A handful of wealthy donors, such as Dallas businessman Harold Simmons and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, are the main sources of c ash to super PACs.