“Independent Spending Reshapes State Senate”

If you are interested in campaign finance and related issues, I highly recommend this article from the NY World.

The article’s subtitle pretty much tells the story:  Independent campaign spending unleashed by Citizens United reshapes the State Senate.

Getting beyond the current question of “who will control the State Senate in January,” the article looks at the millions in independent expenditures that influenced the outcome of key Senate races this cycle.

This quote, from Doug Forand, who worked on behalf of New York State United Teachers, may give a sense of the future of political campaigns:

“When you do an independent expenditure, you basically create an entire campaign.  You do everything you would do in a regular campaign, except talk with the candidate.”

It seems to me that the undeniable impact of independent campaign spending in New York’s 2012 State Senate elections could impact the way that future campaigns are run.