Washington Post: “U.S. House candidate Kim Klacik walked onto Mike Huckabee’s cable talk show last August as the latest conservative celebrity, riding high on a viral campaign ad that had attracted 10 million views and was shared on social media by President Trump and his eldest son. ‘We raised close to $2 million,’ the GOP congressional hopeful said of the three-minute spot, which showed her marching in a red dress and high heels past abandoned buildings in Baltimore, asserting that Democrats do not care about Black lives. But later that night, Klacik’s staff told her it would be best to stop disclosing how much money the ad had raised for her campaign against Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D) – because she wouldn’t be keeping much of it, Klacik recounted in an interview.”

“The company that produced the video, Arsenal Media Group, would take a cut. And a firm hired to promote the video, Olympic Media, would keep up to 70 percent of the money it generated, some of which was not disclosed in Klacik’s initial campaign finance filings. Klacik, a self-described college dropout who launched a nonprofit organization to help disadvantaged women before running for office, said she did not personally approve or know about the contract with Olympic Media until that conversation. ‘When I saw it, I almost passed out,’ she said. Her campaign is an example of how some consulting firms are profiting handsomely from Republican candidates who have robust appeal in today’s politically charged environment – even when they are running in deep-blue districts where it is virtually impossible for them to win. The more viral the candidate goes, the more money the companies make – a model possible only through the online outrage machine of hyperpartisan politics.”

“‘It sounds like part of the swamp that needs to be drained,’ said Bruce Dale, a Klacik donor from Michigan, who was aghast to learn that a chunk of his $800 donated may not have made it to her. ‘They can say it’s legal, but there are a lot of things that are legal that are wrong. This is wrong.'”