News You Can Use Digest – March 27, 2026

National/Federal

Super PAC Spending Passes $200M, with Some Groups Hiding Their Cause

MSN – Clara Ence Morse and Dan Merica (Washington Post) | Published: 3/21/2026

The political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee funneled over $5 million to other groups as part of its work to defeat Illinois Democrats critical of Israel in recent U.S. House primaries. The secretive giving is the latest example of how outside groups are obscuring their spending in competitive campaigns. Special interest groups have sometimes tried to veil their spending by using affiliated organizations that appear unrelated to the parent organization’s stated policy goals.

Rubio Testifies Against Friend Accused of Secretly Working for Maduro

MSN – Teo Arnus (Washington Post) | Published: 3/24/2026

Marco Rubio and David Rivera charted a rise in Miami’s famously scrappy politics together. They befriended each other as campaign volunteers in the 1990s and climbed the ranks of local politics side-by-side. As young state legislators they bought a house together near Tallahassee, where they orchestrated Rubio’s rise to Florida House speaker and then launched winning bids to Congress. But the two long-time friends faced each other recently in a different setting: a federal courtroom. Rubio, now the secretary of state, testified as a witness against Rivera, who is accused of serving as an unregistered foreign agent for Venezuela’s socialist government.

The Well-Timed Trades Made Moments Before Trump’s Policy Surprises

MSN – Alexander Osipovich and Jack Pitcher (Wall Street Journal) | Published: 3/25/2026

President Trump has moved markets with sudden shifts in policy, from tariff U-turns to military strikes. On several occasions, unusual trades hit the tape ahead of his announcements. Most recently, there was a mysterious flurry of trading activity in oil and S&P 500 futures about 15 minutes before Trump de-escalated tensions with Iran with a post on Truth Social, which sent oil prices tumbling and stocks rallying.

From the States and Municipalities

Canada – Doug Ford’s Records-Secrecy Plan Would Hide Top Lawmakers’ Meetings with Lobbyists

Toronto Today – Charlie Pinkerton (The Trillium) | Published: 3/25/2026

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s plan to eliminate the public’s ability to access certain records of the province’s top lawmakers would eliminate the main way to know which lobbyists they met with, and when. The Ford government is planning to introduce legislation to amend the law shaping Ontario’s freedom of information system to end the public’s ability to request the records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their offices.

California – Pebble Beach Golf, Maui Resorts, European Tours: How special interests woo California lawmakers

MSN – Yue Stella Yu and Jeremia Kimelman (CalMatters) | Published: 3/20/2026

State lawmakers in California took dozens of free trips last year, most sponsored and attended by special interest groups with business before the Legislature. Nearly 120 organizations – including nonprofits, corporations, foreign governments, state agencies, tribes, and campaigns – spent at least $1.2 million on travel for legislators in 2025. The bulk of the tab, $1.1 million, was picked up by nonprofits that are largely allowed to keep their donors secret, leaving the true source of the funding murky.

Florida – Democrat Scores Upset Win in Trump’s Backyard for Florida State House Seat

MSN – Dan Merica (Washington Post) | Published: 3/24/2026

Democrat Emily Gregory won the special election to represent a state House district in Florida that includes President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, a stunning upset that signals Democratic momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms. Gregory, a first-time candidate and fitness business owner, defeated Jon Maples, a Republican endorsed by Trump and aligned with his policies. Mike Caruso, the Republican who vacated the seat to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller, won the district by 19 percentage points in 2024.

Mississippi – Supreme Court Appears Ready to Limit Mail-In Balloting Ahead of Midterms

MSN – Justin Jouvenal (Washington Post) | Published: 3/23/2026

The Supreme Court appeared likely to embrace a conservative challenge to tallying mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, a move that could upend election procedures in states across the country as voters prepare to cast ballots in the midterm elections. A majority of justices seemed ready to side with arguments by Republicans and Libertarians who told the court that federal election law preempts Mississippi from counting ballots that arrive up to five days after polls close as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

New York – Hundreds of Nonprofits Made Illegal Campaign Contributions in New York

Yahoo News – Emilie Munson (Albany Times Union) | Published: 3/22/2026

In the past decade, hundreds of New York nonprofits, which often are formed to provide integral services to underserved communities, have donated to political campaigns despite federal and state laws that prohibit it, an Albany Times Union investigation found. Roughly two-thirds of those institutions have filed detailed tax documents with the Internal Revenue Service in which they claimed under penalty of perjury they were not involved in politics, an assertion that routinely appears to be left unverified by the government.

Ohio – FirstEnergy Bribery Trial Deliberations Are in Day Six. Experts Say That’s Normal

MSN – Adam Ferrise (Cleveland Plain Dealer) | Published: 3/26/2026

The jury entered its sixth day of deliberations in the high-profile bribery trial of two former FirstEnergy executives, a timeline that experts say is not unusual for complex cases. The trial began with jury selection on January 27. Testimony lasted six weeks. The jury so far has asked the judge three questions. Former FirstEnergy Chief Executive Chuck Jones and ex-top lobbyist Michael Dowling are accused of bribing state regulator Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million.

Vermont – Bench Press: Judges seeking reappointment turn to lobbyists

Seven Days Vermont – Hannah Bassett | Published: 3/24/2026

Lobbyists are nearly omnipresent at the Vermont Legislature, where they press lawmakers on everything from housing policy to health care. Even judges seeking to keep their seats rely on lobbying, but typically less for persuasion than for explanation, according to people familiar with the process. That distinction is in focus as six Superior Court judges face a retention vote before the full Legislature that will decide whether they can keep their seats on the bench.