BIG SPENDERS

Republican Super-PAC Raised $51M

Plans to raise $240M to defeat Obama.

We knew this year’s super PACs weren’t cheap, but we didn’t expect them to be so shockingly expensive. Republican super political action committee American Crossroads and its sister organization raised more than $51 million last year, according to financial reports released Tuesday. While Romney and Gingrich’s super PAC figures have raised eyebrows, Tuesday’s reports are a sign of more spending to come in the election battle between the Republican nominee and President Obama. Crossroads PAC has roughly $15.6 million cash at its disposal, according to its most recent report, but it has even more money in the bank to spend on taking down Obama. Now the groups are getting fundraising help from former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, and have announced plans to raise at least $240 million to help the GOP take over the White House and Congress.