Our reporters’ roundtable looks at the people and
issues in all the statewide races and discusses the impact that Super PAC
money has had in this campaign.
A Vermont based
Republican Super PAC is on track to spend $1 million during the 2012
campaign and the group is putting a lot of its energy into the race for State
Treasurer. The GOP Super PAC is called
Vermonters First and it’s bankrolled by Lenore Broughton of Burlington. The group has raised just over $684,000
for this campaign cycle and all but $900 has come from Broughton.
The latest campaign reports show that
incumbents in Vermont’s statewide
races hold a strong fundraising edge over their challengers heading into the
last seven weeks of the campaign. But the emergence of a new
Super PAC could help even the field in some of these
races.
Both incumbent Governor Peter
Shumlin and his Republican challenger Randy Brock say they would support a
constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court decision known as
Citizens United. And both Shumlin and
Brock are also rejecting an agreement that could help keep most super PAC money
out of their election.
A new campaign organization known
as a "Super PAC" is now part of the Vermont political landscape. The creators of the newly
formed "Priorities PAC" say they’ll back liberal causes and candidates, as well
as efforts to reduce the influence of money in campaigns.
New
Super PACs could play a critical role in Vermont’s 2012 statewide and
legislative elections – a situation that has renewed the debate over campaign finance legislation in the state.
Congressman
Peter Welch is leading an effort to have the Internal Revenue Service
investigate the operations of new Super PACs that have played a prominent role
in this year’s presidential campaign. Welch
says he wants the
I.R.S. to determine whether the groups are in violation of federal tax law.