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Capitol View®
Catharine Richert

Franken, Udall, DFL join forces to raise money

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Sen. Al Franken has teamed up with New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, the Minnesota DFL party and the Democratic Party of New Mexico to raise money for this year's election.

The Franken Udall Victory 2014 fund is a what political insiders call a joint fundraising committee. It allows donors to cut one large check to a single fundraising committee, which is then split the money between candidates and political parties.

Joint fundraising committees are nothing new, and are frequently tied to a single fundraising event.

But a recent Supreme Court decision has made the entities more popular.

As a result of the McCutcheon vs. FEC ruling, wealthy donors are no longer hamstrung by caps on the total amount they can give to various candidates and parties during an election cycle.

Now, wealthy donors can give one massive check to joint fundraising committees without facing aggregate contribution limits, making the process more efficient.

DFL party chair Ken Martin said the Supreme Court decision is one reason for the new fund.

"Since McCutcheon there have been a number of 'super' joint fundraising agreements cropping up around the country," Martin said. "[The committees are] not unusual, just a function of existing campaign finance law.