Seeking Coherence in Doctrines of Party Election Expenditures

Abstract

Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee, 213 F.3d 1221 (10th Cir. 2000), cert. granted, 121 S. Ct. 296 (2000) (00-191). The 2000 election marked a decisive step in the rebirth of political parties as the dominant force in American elections, thanks in no small part to increased rights won in the courts at the expense of federal election law. The only major election law still constraining party expenditures on races for Congress and the Senate was, midway through the campaign, struck down in the 10th Circuit; if, on its current appeal, the Supreme Court decides against the Federal Election Commission (FEC), parties will be free make unlimited expenditures on behalf of their candidates.