OPINION: Campaign Finance Reform as Important as Ever with Midterms Approaching

By James Oatis

Published October 7, 2026

With the 2026 midterm elections less than a month away, a major concern for both Young Democrats and Young Republicans in America is the presence of powerful lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (also known as AIPAC) in elections of United States politicians. Sites like Track AIPAC have become influential resources for many voters in an age with limited transparency from the United States government. 

Perhaps the most frustrating instance for young voters of the power of lobbying was the Kentucky GOP primary election, where longtime incumbent Congressman Thomas Massie, who took positions against war and advocated for transparency regarding the Epstein Files, lost to Trump- and AIPAC-backed candidate Ed Gallerin. 

When looking back at the recent history of campaign finance, there were many attempts to reform campaign finance so foreign interest groups or corporations could not influence elections with large donations. In an interview, former president Richard Nixon denounced lobbying efforts by Pro-Israeli groups. As President, Nixon famously signed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) to provide transparency to the American public about lobbying groups that was not seen before.  

Later on, Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold built on the foundation Nixon laid with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (the McCain-Feingold Act), which sought to cap donations and avoid “soft money” spending in politics by limiting corporate spending within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. McCain also famously publicly financed his campaign while Obama opted out in favor of corporate and private financing. In 2010, the landmark case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission ruled the McCain-Feingold act unconstitutional, opening the floodgates for corporate and foreign donors to run campaigns with very little restrictions that have spread misinformation numerous times.  

These issues of unregulated campaign finance are still felt in 2026, as NH Governor Kelly Ayotte has taken donations from a data center developer, which incentivises her to build data centers, which have been found to be environmentally damaging to local communities. For voters frustrated with calling their representatives, the first issue that should be asked about is campaign finance reform, because if corporate and international influence is taken out of elections, both Democrats and Republicans will see benefits for their local communities and their nation.