Supreme Court Ends Decades-Long Campaign Finance Restrictions in Landmark Ruling

Political consultant Dick Morris stated on Friday that the Supreme Court’s decision striking down federal limits on coordinated campaign spending by political parties marks the end of the campaign finance system that has governed federal elections for decades.

“This ends campaign finance reform in this country,” Morris said. “It means that basically we have a free market. We have a completely free system. You can give any amount of money, you can spend it as you wish.”

In a 6-3 decision in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, the court ruled that federal restrictions on how much national and state political parties may spend in coordination with their candidates violate the First Amendment.

The ruling removes longstanding caps on coordinated party expenditures in federal races.

Morris noted that the decision could benefit Republicans, pointing to the Republican National Committee’s reported $125 million cash reserve compared with the Democratic National Committee’s reported $14 million on hand and outstanding debt.

He argued that the ruling reflects the failure of previous efforts to curb the influence of money in politics. “The campaign finance law was originally written to try to cut the impact of money in politics and failed completely,” Morris said. “Money cascaded into politics. People learned to give money online.”

Morris also pointed to the 2024 presidential race as evidence that fundraising advantages do not necessarily determine election outcomes. “Remember, Donald Trump was outspent by Kamala Harris by 3 to 2,” he added. “And very often candidates are able to win now without spending vast amounts of money.”

Morris concluded that the court’s ruling effectively ends attempts to tightly regulate campaign spending. “The idea of regulating it, making money and campaigns almost a federal utility is over,” he stated. “And thank goodness it’s over.”