If you are a Congressional candidate, it pays to have a few special interests in your platform. According to a recent Report by the Campaign Finance Institute and the Urban Institute, CFI analyzed a variety of data, including interviews, concerning the following interest groups: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Americans for Job Security, Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A., Club for Growth, MoveOn.org, National Rifle Association, National Right to Life Committee, New Democrat Network, Planned Parenthood, Progress for America, Service Employees International Union, and Sierra Club. Among the findings:
eleven of the twelve interest groups had either PAC or 527 campaign financing organizations, but seven used both in federal elections, cumulating financial influence. Nine of the groups also mobilized their 501(c)(4) social welfare, (c)(5) labor union or (c)(6) business league “advocacy” organizations for elections; but only one group consistently reported its political expenditures to the IRS due to inadequate IRS guidance for and monitoring of reports.

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