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<\/p>\nYour daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:<\/p>\n
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FISTFUL OF HARD COVERS:<\/b> Through the end of 2009, former Republican vice presidential nominee and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has raised more than $2.1 million for her political action committee, SarahPAC<\/a>. Of this amount, she has spent $1.2 million, giving her some $930,000 cash on hand. The National Journal<\/a><\/i> reports<\/a> that her PAC expenditures include $47,777 on copies of Palin’s book Going Rogue<\/i> — an amount that is more than her PAC has doled out to other candidates. “The FEC reports show Palin has been purchasing the book to send to donors, some of whom got a copy after contributing a certain amount to the PAC,” the National<\/i> Journal<\/i> notes. Incumbents and challengers among those receiving money from SarahPAC include: Rep. Michele Bachmann<\/a> (R-Minn.), Rep. Roy Blunt<\/a> (R-Mo.), Sen. Tom Coburn<\/a> (R-Okla.), Sen. Jim DeMint<\/a> (R-S.C.) and Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate who forced<\/a> Republican Dede Scozzafava out of the Congressional race<\/a> in upstate New York where Democrat Bill Owens<\/a> ultimately prevailed<\/a>. <\/p>\n NOT JUST A JOKER:<\/b> Sen. Al Franken<\/a> (D-Minn.) is key-noting a fund-raiser<\/a> for NARAL Pro-Choice America<\/a> today in Washington, D.C. The one-time funny man took some heat during his 2008 senatorial bid for controversial jokes about women during his Saturday Night Live<\/i> star and satirist days, including a column he wrote for Playboy<\/i> magazine in 2000 entitled “Porn-O-Rama!”<\/a> Ultimately in the course of his election<\/a>, though, Franken raised more than $81,500 from groups supportive of women’s reproductive rights — making him the highest recipient<\/a> of such cash of any congressional candidate, and the fourth highest overall. During his first year in the U.S. Senate, Franken introduced a bill to provide women in the armed forces overseas access to emergency contraception. He also successfully championed an amendment<\/a> to bar the Pentagon from doing business with contractors who force employees into binding arbitration over rape and sexual assault charges. The Senate adopted that provision on a 68-30 roll call vote<\/a> in October, and President Barack Obama signed the measure into law in December.<\/p>\n ILLINOIS VOTES:<\/b> Voters in Illinois head to the polls today to select their respective parties’ nominees for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama<\/a>, among other offices, in today’s primary election. Through January 13, GOP Rep. Mark Kirk<\/a> had raised the most of any candidate in the crowded field<\/a> — $4.8 million. The Republican contender with the next biggest war chest, Patrick Hughes, had raised $515,000. On the Democratic side of the aisle, Alexi Giannoulias had raised the largest sum — $3 million. Democrat David Hoffman reported raising $2.2 million, and Jacob Meister reported raising $1 million. (Meister, the firstly openly gay U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois endorsed<\/a> Giannoulias on Sunday.) See which industries favored which candidates on our website here<\/a>. Polls close at 7 pm.<\/p>\n Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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