Outside Voices: 527s, Political Parties, and Other Non-Candidate Groups

On the eve of the 2008 presidential campaign, many observers expected noncandidate groups-particularly PACs (political action committees), 527s, 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organizations,1 and also political party committees-to play a significant role in the race. In 2004, such groups were heavily involved in the battle between President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry. Given that 2008 was the first open-seat presidential contest in over fifty years, it was thought that non-candidate groups were bound to increase their efforts. A Boston Globe article in April 2008 foresaw “a year that could see record activity by such outside entities.”2