Analyst: ‘Dark money’ marred Arizona’s 2014 elections

PHOENIX — A Valley political expert said the 2014 midterm election in Arizona will not be remembered for a heavy Republican shift, but rather the influx of so-called “dark money.”

Stan Barnes said there’s no accountabilty with dark money and that is bad for the entire process.

“Not only is there a record amount of money being spent, there is a complete lack of knowledge about who is doing the spending,” he said. “There’s so much undisclosed spending in Arizona in 2014 that we don’t know if this is the new norm or a super exceptional experience that we’re having.

“It’s not good for the political system in Arizona. It’s not good for voters or candidates. It’s not good for outcomes.”

The dark money is coming from groups which don’t disclose their donors because of their 501(c)4 nonprofit statuses.

“I’m hoping for the day when people have to disclose their political contributions,” Barnes said. “That would be good for the process.”

Barnes pointed to the tight District 1 Congressional race between Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick and Republican Andy Tobin.

“There has been over $16 million spent and only a couple of million is from each candidate,” he said. “The other $10 million is who knows? All kinds of people, all kinds of corporations hidden behind third parties which don’t have to disclose.”

The dark money spending was mentioned publicly by several candidates in the wake of Tuesday’s elections.

“One thing is clear here in Arizona and across the country. Dark money is
real, and dark money is very, very powerful,” Democratic Secretary of State candidate Terry Goddard said. “Every Republican
victor owes dark-money forces for their victory.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal also took a shot at both his opponent, Republican Doug Ducey. He and DuVal each spent about $2.2 million in their general election campaign, but Ducey has benefited from $7.9 million in outside spending compared to about $1 million for DuVal.

“I’d like to congratulate the other big winners tonight but they are unknown, undisclosed, and out-of-state,” he said.

California has a law requiring dark money groups to disclose the names of large contributors.

KTAR’s Jim Cross and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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