Nonprofit Campaign Spending Down Overall in 2008

The 527s first gained prominence in the summer of 2004 when Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth ran a series of ads attacking Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry . Since then, the Swift Boat organization and other 527s have been saddled with six-figure fines from the Federal Election Committee for campaign finance violations. The fines may explain why 527s — which actually favored Democrats over Republicans last year — were less willing to commit big dollars.