Edwin Bender is executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Under his leadership, the institute was honored to receive a 2015 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Bender’s publications include “Evidencing a Republican Form of Government: The Influence of Campaign Money on State-Level Elections,” “Free(ing) Data: Philanthropy’s Essential Role in Disclosure and Democracy” and “Ripple Effects: Will McCutcheon Amplify the Role of Big Donors?” Bender was an expert witness for the Alaska attorney general’s 2016 successful defense of its campaign-finance regulations, and for the Montana attorney general’s defense of campaign contribution limits against multiple challenges. The institute’s data has been cited by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, by the Montana Supreme Court, in a 2009 amicus curiae brief, by Justice David Souter and by the Brennan Center for Justice. Bender is a University of Montana Journalism School graduate and worked as an award-winning reporter in Montana, Alaska and Washington before co-launching the institute.