Derek Willis
Derek Willis was a news applications developer at ProPublica, focusing on politics and elections.
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Derek Willis was a news applications developer at ProPublica, focusing on politics and elections. He previously worked as a developer and reporter at The New York Times, a database editor at The Washington Post, and at the Center for Public Integrity and Congressional Quarterly. He began his journalism career at The Palm Beach Post. He is a co-founder of OpenElections, a project to collect and publish election results from all 50 states.
Pro-Trump Super PAC at Center of Ukraine Scandal Has Faced Multiple Campaign Finance Complaints
Randy Perkins donated $500,000 to America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC, a day after his company won federal money as part of a contract.
by Mike Spies, Derek Willis and J. David McSwane,
Political Fundraiser Pleads Guilty To Fraud
The subject of a previous ProPublica/Politico story operated multiple PACs for the benefit of himself and associates, court records show.
by Maggie Severns, Politico, and Derek Willis, ProPublica,
You Can Now See Who’s Contributing to 2020 Presidential Campaigns by State
ProPublica is making available the quarterly records of itemized contributions to presidential candidates by state. Track the money going into presidential campaigns using ProPublica’s interactive database, FEC Itemizer.
by Derek Willis,
How Fundraisers Convinced Conservatives to Donate $10 Million — Then Kept Almost All of It.
Beginning in 2012, operatives used a federal PAC to target small-dollar donors, claiming they’d use the money to oppose Barack Obama. But that’s not what happened.
by Derek Willis, ProPublica, and Maggie Severns, Politico,
Political Operatives Got Donors to Give Millions. The Money Wasn’t Used As Promised. Here’s How They Did It.
Conservative Majority Fund used aggressive fundraising calls to raise millions to "stop" Obama. It used most of the money to pay fundraisers and consultants instead. We got their phone script and built this interactive questionnaire.
by Derek Willis and Moiz Syed,
Follow the 2020 Money Trail
Presidential candidates must file their campaign finances quarterly and their next deadline is July 15. Keep track of the money they’re raising and spending using ProPublica’s interactive database, FEC Itemizer.
by Derek Willis,
Will Pelosi Open the Floor to Bipartisan Ideas?
She has agreed to a more open process, but amendments backed by both parties have become a rarity in polarized Washington.
by Derek Willis,
Updated: The Hidden Money Funding the Midterms
Strategies that let super PACs delay revealing their donors until after the election are gaining popularity among both Democrats and Republicans.
by Derek Willis, ProPublica, and Maggie Severns, Politico,
How Congress Stopped Working
Today’s legislative branch, far from the model envisioned by the founders, is dominated by party leaders and functions as a junior partner to the executive, according to an analysis by The Washington Post and ProPublica.
by Derek Willis, ProPublica, and Paul Kane, The Washington Post,
The Election DataBot: Now Even Easier
We’ll show you what’s really new, what’s important, where races are heating up, where the money is flowing and what news is happening. And those are just our first steps.
by Derek Willis and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee,