Did Incumbent Democrat Schaefer give $30K to buy Republican support?
When scandal engulfs a party’s endorsed candidate, questions naturally arise where that party draws the line for stripping an...
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Sept. 22, 2022 – Vol. 2, Issue 26
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Jeff Burdick
- Jul 31
Midterm roundup: Kiley fundraising off concerns about radical associations
Friday night, South Carolina’s capital newspaper The State reported House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) swung by that state GOP’s...
Jeff Burdick
- Jul 31
Obituary for Sacramento Bee election coverage
The Washington Post has the most memorable and consequential motto in journalism: “Democracy dies in darkness.” Adopted in 2017, the...
Jeff Burdick
- May 16
After SactoPolitico probes, US House members change fundraising tactic; donor refunded $1,000
“Accountability journalism” strives to hold individuals – usually the powerful – accountable for activities that, while legal, may...
Jeff Burdick
- May 2
4th Major Sacramento-area GOP Campaign Criticizes Sac Bee Ed Board
The 2022 primary season has quickly turned into a losing referendum on the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board. Two weeks ago, three major GOP...
Jeff Burdick
- Apr 26
Midterm checkup: How healthy is California democracy?
Maintaining a healthy democracy is like maintaining a healthy body. Regular attention and checkups are required. Fortunately, each...
Jeff Burdick
- Feb 21
As Dems criticize Covid misinformation, many take Fox Corp. money
This article is part of SactoPolitico.com’s ongoing “Shame of Our Campaigns” series. For past pieces in the series, click here. Nothing...
Jeff Burdick
- Oct 24, 2021
Does California need a statewide debate commission?
Every election provides sort of an MRI snapshot of the health of the democratic process. Take California’s recent recall election. This...
Jeff Burdick
- Oct 24, 2021
Q3 fundraising winner: political industrial complex
At the federal level, the term “campaign fundraising” is a partial misnomer. That’s because the majority of such funds does little to run...
Jeff Burdick
- Aug 11, 2021
4 House Republicans using deceptive fundraising trick
The standard official portrait poses members of Congress like patriots in front of a U.S. flag. But with four House members from...
Jeff Burdick
- Jul 29, 2021
Dizzying by design: Valadao’s complicated fundraising
Last week, The New Republic published the results of my four-month investigation into widespread use of a previously obscure campaign...
Jeff Burdick
- Jul 29, 2021
Living ‘DaVita’ loca: Federal charges shame no pols
On July 15, the U.S. Justice Department announced the latest in a long string of indictments against the giant dialysis company DaVita...
Jeff Burdick
- Mar 31, 2021
Former FEC Chair Ravel on recall donations, dark money
While sitting on board of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from 2013 to 2017 – including one stint as chair – native Californian Ann...
Jeff Burdick
- Mar 11, 2021
Calif. GOP chair, Asm. Kiley rallied with extremists
Sunday afternoon, the drive to collect 1.5 million verified signatures and trigger a recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a...
Jeff Burdick
- Feb 23, 2021
Matsui, Bera letting public foot opioid settlements
The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post recently reported that four major opioid makers and distributors are close to finalizing a...
Jeff Burdick
- Feb 23, 2021
Fine(d) Bedfellows, Part 2: Where we go from here
This is the second of two articles in a series. Click here for part one. Last issue, a Sacto Politico study detailed the tens of millions...
Jeff Burdick
- Feb 5, 2021
Fine(d) Bedfellows Pt. 1: Worst corporations donate big
This article is part one of two, and part of Sacto Politico’s ongoing “Shame of Our Campaigns” series. For other articles in the series,...
Jeff Burdick
- Dec 15, 2020
S/P OpEd follow-up: Campaign coffers for common good?
This story is part of Sacto Politico’s ongoing “Shame of Our Campaigns” series. Maine’s unsuccessful Senate candidate Sara Gideon made...
Jeff Burdick
- Nov 5, 2020
The Shame of Our Campaigns, a primer
Editor’s note: The Sacto Politco’s “Shame of Our Campaigns” series was inspired by famed muckraker Lincoln Steffens and his “Shame of the...
Jeff Burdick
- Nov 5, 2020
As Opioid Crisis raged, companies gave Matsui $125K
When speaking of the “shame of our campaigns,” no episode in the last decade should disgust more than the federal response to the Opioid...