Watch the debate last night? Romney did hit Obama on Solyndra and favors for "contributors," but that was the extent of campaign finance chat. Though, NFL player and noted marriage equality advocate Chris Kluwe did have something to say. He tweeted: "You know what I want to see debated? Campaign finance reform. Citizens United. Term limits. Tax reform. Cure the disease, not the symptoms."

Big meeting in New York City today: "A coalition of major labor unions, progressive political groups and good-government advocates is trying to push New York's Legislature to adopt public financing of campaigns. The effort, aimed at a likely special session after the elections, would be used as a national model." Times-Union.

And the Courts really don't want to give Montana/regular people a break this year: "A federal judge today struck down Montana’s dollar limits on campaign contributions to state candidates, dealing another blow to longstanding state laws limiting money in politics."

Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Alliance for Justice: Poll: Americans fear Romney would further shift Supreme Court toward big business
Interesting: "According to the survey, what most concerns voters – a full 54 percent –is their worry that Romney will nominate justices who will consistently favor corporations over ordinary Americans."

HuffPost: How GOP Voter Suppression Radicalized William Louis-Dreyfus, 'Seinfeld' Star's Mogul Dad
Fun story - Julia Louis-Dreyfus's dad is fired up about voting rights, handing over $1 million to fight suppression. ""If something impedes the right of the people to vote, I can't think of anything more lethal to happen to our basic principles. It's a damn outrage, and I don't understand why everyone -- Republican and Democrat alike -- are not shocked to their shoe tops."

Roll Call: Activists press corporations to cut ties with debate commission
The Commission on Presidential Debates is facing some pressure this year, with one company already dropping as a sponsor: "If enough high-profile companies abandon the commission, the activists hope it will change its criteria for candidate participation and abolish the 20-plus-page contracts detailing strict guidelines for the debates."

Congress/2012
Roll Call: Campaign fundraisers continue in DC despite recess
Lots of fundraisers scheduled this month in DC, even though Congress isn't in session.

NPR: 2012 already a record year for political ads
Peter Overby goes through the new Wesleyan Media Project report: "The analysis covers ads from September 9th through the 30th. It found that just 15 percent of pro-Romney ads were positive and just two and a half percent of pro-Obama spots. On both sides, more than 60 percent of the ads were pure attacks like this one." Daily Beast.

ABC News: Obama and allies run more ads that Romney in key states
"Despite all the hype about Republican SuperPacs and Mitt Romney’s own robust fundraising, something strange has happened in this campaign: Obama and the Democrats have dominated the airwaves in virtually every major battleground media market." USA Today.

WaPo: Obama lead raises question about super PAC strategy
It's not just the campaign that's already infighting: "The trend has prompted second-guessing among many political strategists and observers, who question why conservative groups weren’t more unified in their ad messages over the summer and fault Romney’s campaign for failing to build a positive impression of the candidate among voters."

Politico: Obama campaign thriftier than Romney's
"Romney’s campaign last month spent about the same amount on staffing as Obama for less than half as many employees. And it has spent roughly four times as much on fundraising but continues to be outraised by the president."

Washington Times: Group makes largest-ever super PAC ad buy
More on that Crossroads buy announced earlier this week: "American Crossroads spent $11 million on anti-Obama ads Tuesday, the largest one-day expenditure by a super PAC since the unlimited-money groups were created in 2010."

Politico: Dick Cheney raising for Romney
"Former Vice President Dick Cheney is lending some political star power to a Romney Victory fundraiser Oct. 11, the same night Vice President Joe Biden and GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan face-off in their first debate."

Fox: Federal government workers among Obama's top campaign donors
"According to fundraising figures compiled by The Center for Responsive Politics, federal government employees and their families are among the top contributors to Obama's campaign."

Post-Standard: New anti-super PAC targets money's influence on Buerkle-Maffei race
On Friends of Democracy entering the Maffei/Buerkle race: "But this Washington, D.C., group is different: It’s out to destroy all of the other Super PACs, including those outside special interests who are spending millions to support Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle and Dan Maffei."

NaJo: Chamber expands ads into New York, Utah and Georgia
US Chamber is up with more ads in several House districts, hitting Democrats for supporting Obamacare.

PCAF Tumblr: NRCC pulls anti-Wall Street ad
Funny little scoop in Politico Influence yesterday - the NRCC has pulled an anti-Wall Street ad it was running against Dem Bill Owens.

ThinkProgress: How much does it cost to buy a Senate seat? Less than you think
So, what if some bilionaire wanted to buy up all the ad time in the last month of an election? "An analysis of ad rate cards for each of North Dakota’s 19 ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC affiliates showed that if every minute of ad time was available for the month of October — estimating about 15 minutes of advertising per hour — the total cost would be, at most, about $90,414,275."

AP: McCaskill says she raised $5.8M for Senate bid
Dramatic increase in fundraising for Sen. McCaskill the past quarter: "Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill says she raised about $5.8 million for her re-election campaign over the past three months." Todd Akin hasn't released his 3rd quarter numbers yet.

NaJo: Kaine raises $4.5 million
"Huge fundraising haul for Tim Kaine: The Democratic nominee in Virginia's Senate race raised approximately $4.5 million in the third quarter." George Allen hasn't released his numbers yet. Arizona Democrat Richard Carmona hit $2.2M, with Jeff Flake not yet releasing numbers.

The Hill: First lady is fundraising juggernaut
"A mid-September analysis by Bloomberg found that the first lady had raised at least $17.5 million for President Obama’s campaign since the start of the year, over the course of 56 fundraising events. She raised at least $5.1 million in August alone, the news organization noted."

Roll Call: Sen. Ron Johnson aide goes to lobby shop
Second Johnson aide to go to K Street in a few weeks: "Alan Elias, a policy adviser to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and a former aide to then-Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), has signed with the lobby firm Mercury/Clark & Weinstock as a vice president."

NaJo: No lobbying, but plenty of policy and politics ahead for Barney Frank
Barney Frank on his retirement: “I will not be practicing law or engaging in any legislative representation for compensation."

CPI: Nebraska Senate race targeted by Democratic super PAC
"Liberal super PAC End the Gridlock spent more than $534,000 opposing Republican state Sen. Deb Fischer, who is favored to win the U.S. Senate seat in Nebraska."

Roll Call: NRSC spending up as end draws near
"The National Republican Senatorial Committee on Wednesday made its first independent expenditure foray into Nevada and Wisconsin, waiting until less than five weeks before Election Day to expand its advertising footprint as part of a strategy that helps ensure it has enough cash reserves to bolster underfunded candidates."

NaJo: Independent expenditures spike in September
"Independent expenditures for September totaled $207 million, breaking records for prior months this cycle and rivaling the outside spending from previous presidential years, according to data from the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics."

Sunlight: FCC database misses huge chunk of ads
"In key battleground states, huge numbers of presidential ads are airing on TV stations that are not required to post to the Federal Communications Commission's online political ad database, new data released by the Wesleyan Media Project shows. "

NYT: Competitive races put New York in the thick of the fight for Congress
"New York State has become a prime focus of the battle for control of Congress, as both parties and their allies deploy ground troops and pump millions of dollars into more than a half-dozen competitive districts."

Other/States
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel replaces ethics board
"Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday replaced the entire board that enforces City Hall ethics and campaign finance rules as he prepares to revamp the board's role so it's focused on its judicial duties."

Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Scott turns voter pledge into fundraising drive
Gross: "Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Party of Florida are turning the effort to remove non-citizens from voting lists into a political fundraising appeal and are attacking President Barack Obama, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, former Gov. Charlie Crist and others along the way."