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      <p>It was the Freedom Club of Minnesota that paid for the television ad criticizing Democrats for increasing taxes and funding a new Senate office building. Alliance for a Better Minnesota bought those ads accusing <NAME>, the GOP nominee for governor, of cutting education spending when he served as a legislator. And the Minnesota Jobs Coalition purchased the half-page newspaper ads across the state tying a handful of DFL lawmakers to President <NAME> and the Affordable Care Act.</p>

      <p>Ever heard of these groups? If you&rsquo;re an average Minnesota voter, probably not. That&rsquo;s because they are all &ldquo;outside&rdquo; spending groups &mdash; types of political action committees that are a relatively new fixture in Minnesota campaigns.</p>

      <p>For years, traditional political action committees (PACs) allowed businesses, labor unions, non-profits and even individuals to contribute to campaigns &mdash; but with strict limits on how much they could give. But the landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission changed the game, opening the door for those same businesses and unions to spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence campaigns.</p>

      <p>Now dollars from around the country flow into state and local races via these outside groups, which &mdash; by law &mdash; must operate completely independent of any candidate. That means many of the messages in any given election cycle is now set by organizations that will never be on the ballot.</p>

      <p>An analysis of the 20 largest outside groups in Minnesota show they have raised a more than $18 million for this year&rsquo;s election cycle &mdash; most of which has gone to the governor&rsquo;s race and competitive state House contests. Of that $18 million raised, nearly $15 million has already been spent, dwarfing the amount of money spent by the candidates themselves. DFL Gov. <NAME> raised about $3.1 million for his re-election effort, for example, while Johnson raised $2.1 million. And the $18 million is just a fraction of the total spending on races Minnesota will see this cycle, as even more outside groups empty their coffers in the final days of the campaign.</p>

      <p>Below is a breakdown of how outside money flows through elections in Minnesota: A look at who these major outside groups are, how they (at times) work together; and how that money is funneled to individual races.</p>
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    <div class="text-block">
      <div class="component-label">The Top 20: Who they are</div>

      <p>Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of the 20 largest local outside groups spending money in this year's election in Minnesota (as well as party they&rsquo;re affiliated with).</p>
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      <p class="caption">The 20 biggest outside groups in Minnesota in the 2014 election cycle</p>
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      <div class="component-label">The Top 20: Who they support</div>

      <p>Outside groups supporting Democratic candidates and issues in Minnesota easily out-raised and spent their conservative-minded counterparts (as of the Oct. 20 pre-general election campaign finance reporting deadline), though the former had less money on hand to spend than Republican-friendly groups for the final stretch of the campaign.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="text-block with-caption">
      <p class="caption">Total money raised and spent by the 20 biggest outside groups in the 2014 election cycle</p>
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      <div class="component-label">How the money flows for Democrats</div>

      <p>Democrats are the most likely to decry the adverse effects of big money in politics in the post-Citizens United world, but they've also become more savvy than Republicans when it comes to raising and organizing money to funnel into local races. In Minnesota, the network of contributors is deep-pocketed and vast, and it includes local labor unions like Education Minnesota and AFSCME, as well as national groups like the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.</p>

      <p>But at the heart of Democratic spending in Minnesota a three-headed hydra, consisting of two fundraising powerhouse PACs &mdash; Win Minnesota and the 2014 Fund &mdash; that funnel all their money to Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM), which focuses on spending money on web and television advertising. The coordinating scheme &mdash; which keeps messaging consistent and prevents spending overlap &mdash; has served DFLers and their causes well over the last few election cycles. In 2010, for example, ABM spent millions hammering GOP governor candidate <NAME> in television ads, an approach that helped push the first Democratic governor into the office in 20 years. Two years later, Democrats took back control of the state House and defeated two controversial GOP-led amendments on the ballot, victories for which spending and organizing from outside groups was key. In the 2014 cycle, ABM has already spent millions on ads attacking <NAME> over past votes on education funding.</p>
    </div>

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        <p class="caption">How the biggest Democratic groups in the 2014 election cycle share their money</p>
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      <div class="component-label">How the money flows for Republicans</div>

      <p>Powerful Republicans donors like broadcasting magnate <NAME> have called on GOP outside spending groups to better coordinate outside campaign spending in order to combat the well-oiled machine that has developed on the left, but so far this cycle, there's little evidence that's happening. The best-funded of the Republican outside groups, the Freedom Club of Minnesota, has shown little interest in coordinating with groups like the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and its outside spending arm, Pro Jobs Majority. The Freedom Club, founded by media-shy businessman <NAME>, has veered to the right of other GOP groups in the candidates and causes it supports. That said, some GOP and business-aligned groups have done at least a little coordination this year, pooling some resources in groups like the Coalition for Minnesota Businesses and the Minnesota Jobs Coalition to spend on pro-business candidates.</p>

      <p>Republicans have also spent a lot of cash through another kind of group &mdash; politically active non-profit organizations registered as a 501(c)(4), which can avoid disclosing any information about donors as long as any material they produce doesn&rsquo;t explicitly say &ldquo;vote for&rdquo; or &ldquo;vote against&rdquo; a candidate. Proposals to disclose this kind of spending has routinely failed in the state Legislature.</p>
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        <p class="caption">How the biggest Republican groups in the 2014 election cycle share (or don&rsquo;t) their money</p>
      </div><commit_msg>Update copy.<commit_after><div class="application-container">
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  <div class="content-container">

    <div class="text-block">
      <p>It was the Freedom Club of Minnesota that paid for the television ad criticizing Democrats for increasing taxes and funding a new Senate office building. Alliance for a Better Minnesota bought those ads accusing <NAME>, the GOP nominee for governor, of cutting education spending when he served as a legislator. And the Minnesota Jobs Coalition purchased the half-page newspaper ads across the state tying a handful of DFL lawmakers to President <NAME> and the Affordable Care Act.</p>

      <p>Ever heard of these groups? If you&rsquo;re an average Minnesota voter, probably not. That&rsquo;s because they are all &ldquo;outside&rdquo; spending groups &mdash; types of political action committees that are a relatively new fixture in Minnesota campaigns.</p>

      <p>For years, traditional political action committees (PACs) allowed businesses, labor unions, non-profits and even individuals to contribute to campaigns &mdash; but with strict limits on how much they could give. But the landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission changed the game, opening the door for those same businesses and unions to spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence campaigns.</p>

      <p>Now dollars from around the country flow into state and local races via these outside groups, which &mdash; by law &mdash; must operate completely independent of any candidate. That means many of the messages in any given election cycle is now set by organizations that will never be on the ballot.</p>

      <p>An analysis of the 20 largest outside groups in Minnesota show they have raised a more than $18 million for this year&rsquo;s election cycle &mdash; most of which has gone to the governor&rsquo;s race and competitive state House contests. Of that $18 million raised, nearly $15 million has already been spent, dwarfing the amount of money spent by the candidates themselves. DFL Gov. <NAME> raised about $3.1 million for his re-election effort, for example, while Johnson raised $2.1 million. And the $18 million is just a fraction of the total spending on races Minnesota will see this cycle, as even more outside groups empty their coffers in the final days of the campaign.</p>

      <p>Below is a breakdown of how outside money flows through elections in Minnesota: A look at who these major outside groups are, how they (at times) work together; and how that money is funneled to individual races.</p>
    </div>


    <div class="text-block">
      <div class="component-label">The Top 20: Who they are</div>

      <p>Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of the 20 largest local outside groups spending money on this year's state races in Minnesota, along with the party they&rsquo;re affiliated with. (One possible exception should be noted: some of the money raised by Education Minnesota's PAC may have been spent on the Minneapolis School Board race.)</p>
    </div>

    <div class="text-block with-caption">
      <p class="caption">The 20 biggest outside groups in Minnesota in the 2014 election cycle</p>
    </div>

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    </div>

    <div class="text-block">
      <div class="component-label">The Top 20: Who they support</div>

      <p>Outside groups supporting Democratic candidates and issues in Minnesota easily out-raised and spent their conservative-minded counterparts (as of the Oct. 20 pre-general election campaign finance reporting deadline), though the former had less money on hand to spend than Republican-friendly groups for the final stretch of the campaign.</p>
    </div>

    <div class="text-block with-caption">
      <p class="caption">Total money raised and spent by the 20 biggest outside groups in the 2014 election cycle</p>
    </div>

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    </div>

    <div class="text-block">
      <div class="component-label">How the money flows for Democrats</div>

      <p>Democrats are the most likely to decry the adverse effects of big money in politics in the post-Citizens United world, but they've also become more savvy than Republicans when it comes to raising and organizing money to funnel into local races. In Minnesota, the network of contributors is deep-pocketed and vast, and it includes local labor unions like Education Minnesota and AFSCME, as well as national groups like the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.</p>

      <p>But at the heart of Democratic spending in Minnesota a three-headed hydra, consisting of two fundraising powerhouse PACs &mdash; Win Minnesota and the 2014 Fund &mdash; that funnel all their money to Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM), which focuses on spending money on web and television advertising. The coordinating scheme, which keeps messaging consistent and prevents spending overlap, has served DFLers and their causes well over the last few election cycles. In 2010, for example, ABM spent millions hammering GOP governor candidate <NAME> in television ads, an approach that helped push the first Democratic governor into the office in 20 years. Two years later, Democrats took back control of the state House and defeated two controversial GOP-led amendments on the ballot, victories for which spending and organizing from outside groups was key. In the 2014 cycle, ABM has already spent millions on ads attacking <NAME> over past votes on education funding.</p>
    </div>

    {{#(this.options.support.d3Charts)}}
      <div class="text-block with-caption">
        <p class="caption">How the biggest Democratic groups in the 2014 election cycle share their money</p>
      </div>

      {{>networklegend}}

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    <div class="text-block">
      <div class="component-label">How the money flows for Republicans</div>

      <p>Powerful Republicans donors like broadcasting magnate <NAME> have called on GOP outside spending groups to better coordinate outside campaign spending in order to combat the well-oiled machine that has developed on the left, but so far this cycle, there's little evidence that's happening. The best-funded of the Republican outside groups, the Freedom Club of Minnesota, has shown little interest in coordinating with groups like the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and its outside spending arm, Pro Jobs Majority. The Freedom Club, founded by media-shy businessman <NAME>, has veered to the right of other GOP groups in the candidates and causes it supports. That said, some GOP and business-aligned groups have done at least a little coordination this year, pooling some resources in groups like the Coalition for Minnesota Businesses and the Minnesota Jobs Coalition to spend on pro-business candidates.</p>

      <p>Republicans have also spent a lot of cash through another kind of group &mdash; politically active non-profit organizations registered as a 501(c)(4), which can avoid disclosing any information about donors as long as any material they produce doesn&rsquo;t explicitly say &ldquo;vote for&rdquo; or &ldquo;vote against&rdquo; a candidate. Proposals to disclose this kind of spending have routinely failed in the state Legislature.</p>
    </div>

    {{#(this.options.support.d3Charts)}}
      <div class="text-block with-caption">
        <p class="caption">How the biggest Republican groups in the 2014 election cycle share (or don&rsquo;t) their money</p>
      </div>
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