Who’s Spending So Much Money On TW Shannon?
Who spent $395,178 on T.W. Shannon’s campaign for the U.S. Senate?
By Chris Casteel
WASHINGTON — A group that has spent nearly $400,000 to boost the U.S. Senate campaign of state Rep. T.W. Shannon organized as a “social welfare” organization under the federal tax code and will be able to keep secret the names of its donors.
Donors to Oklahomans for a Conservative Future can give unlimited amounts of money to help the Republican candidate, but the secrecy comes at a cost: The group must raise at least twice as much money as it can spend on politics.
Oklahomans for a Conservative Future does have to report its expenditures for Shannon to the Federal Election Commission. This month, the group has filed three reports with the FEC showing that it spent $395,178 on television advertising and direct mail on behalf of Shannon, the former state House speaker from Lawton.
The group was registered with the Oklahoma secretary of state as a for-profit corporation, but an attorney said that was a mistake.