Democrats, Campaign Funds | featured news

Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been charged with spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. His wife was charged with filing false income tax forms....

...Jackson is discussing a plea deal with the Justice Department, which is investigating his alleged use of campaign funds to decorate his house and buy a $40,000 Rolex for a female friend. Jackson won reelection last week with more than 60 percent of the vote. A plea deal could require jail time and his resignation, according to reports.

CBS News reported the Illinois Democrat is working on a deal stemming from allegations he misused campaign funds.

President Barack Obama's campaign and its Democratic allies raised a record $181 million in September for the president's re-election effort, adding to a fundraising haul that could prove crucial in the final stretch of the White House race.

Billionaire financier George Soros has given $1 million to the primary super PAC helping President Obama. The funding is a boost to Priorities USA Action in the final weeks of the campaign.

Native American tribes, wielding new clout with casino income, are betting strongly on Obama's reelection. At a July fundraiser in the elegant Mandarin Oriental hotel near Washington's Tidal Basin, President Obama met with some of his most steadfast supporters — two dozen political and business leaders eager to write sizable checks to help keep him in the White House.

Just minutes after the end of the Republican convention, President Obama appealed to his supporters for campaign cash. "Tonight was their night," Obama wrote in an e-mail. "But our focus must be on tomorrow." And presumably next week, when Obama and the Democrats hold their own convention in Charlotte.

President Obama's campaign is claiming another first: Donations by text message. The campaign said today that Obama supporters with smartphones can contribute up to $50 by texting "GIVE" to the number 62262.

Morgan Freeman donated $1 million last month to Priorities USA Action, the main super PAC supporting President Obama.

President Obama's campaign is using an old-fashioned technique to raise money these days: fear. Namely, fear of losing the election to Mitt Romney because of money. Twice within the past week, Obama campaign officials have cited the Republicans' newfound money advantage in asking for more and bigger contributions.