Cassandra Ballard
05/29/25

(Sentinel Colorado) So-called “dark money” political contributions are a growing force in local and national elections, crossing all kinds of political lines, Aurora Democratic Rep. Jason Crow and guests said at a roundtable discussion in Aurora Wednesday.

In 2024, $20 billion was spent during the election cycle, and 75% of the cash was untraceable “dark money” , said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United.

“Of course, corruption is happening,” Muller said. “Of course, we’re just seeing our government sold off to the highest bidder.”

She said there are now three lobbyists for every member of Congress.

These and other campaign contribution issues were the topics discussed at the event at the Community College of Aurora among Muller, Crow, Aly Belknap, executive director of Colorado Common Cause and Montana Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Tester. 

Crow held the panel with End Citizens United to discuss his work in Congress to combat campaign finance corruption and enact meaningful campaign finance reform, including his recent introduction of the End Dark Money Act, which aims to curb the influence of dark money in U.S. elections.

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There are other times in American history when citizens fought back against the political system, Muller said.

“Let’s go back to the Gilded Age, where we saw an economic and income inequality that’s rivaled only by today,” Muller said. “We saw permanent power being held in just a few hands.” 

That movement led to the direct election of senators and the Tillman Act, which banned corporate contributions in federal elections for nearly a century, she said. 

In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, the United States implemented extensive reforms, including the establishment of the Federal Election Commission, as well as contribution and disclosure limits, Muller said. 

“Let’s renew them,” Muller said. “I believe that what we have seen is that the people will keep fighting this fight.”

Colorado’s strict disclosure laws and the ability to file campaign finance complaints have proven effective in deterring dark money groups like the Koch brothers, who contribute far less to Colorado elections “because they didn’t want to be exposed for all of the money they were spending,” Muller said. 

“We might not be able to just overturn Citizens United legislatively,” Muller said. “We can pass disclosure and transparency, and we know that that works. We know it because we’ve seen it in state after state.” 

The Federal Election Commission, established 50 years ago, is now largely dysfunctional due to partisan stalemates and a lack of a quorum, Muller said.

“We could reform the Federal Elections Commission and make it work,” Muller said. “Have a watchdog on the beat again.” 

She also recommended passing online disclosures to identify who is funding political misinformation online, as well as ethics and transparency reforms for the Supreme Court, so that they can’t receive millions from individuals with cases before the court.