Independent soft money groups - 527s and 501(c)(3) organizations - are on course to spend almost $400 million to try and influence the outcome of the 2008 election, a significant increase from the past two elections, says the Campaign Finance Institute in a new report. Among the top spenders are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($30 million), the Service Employees International Union ($25.3 million), and Planned Parenthood ($10 million).

Candidates who win election will "presumably be somewhat responsive to" the interest groups that helped elect them, says Steve Weissman, CFI's associate director of policy.

Which groups have done the best job of getting their candidates elected? In our next issue, National Journal will tally the records for key interest groups on how effective they were in this election.
                                                                                                      -- Bara Vaida