Bradley Smith's Biography

Bradley Smith is Chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics and is one of the nation’s foremost experts on campaign finance law. He recently completed a term as Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, resigning as of August 21, 2005. Commissioner Smith served as Vice-Chairman of the Commission in 2003 and Chairman of the Commission in 2004.

Once called, “the most sought after witness in Congress” on campaign finance issues, Commissioner Smith has authored over 40 articles on campaign finance reform, appearing in academic publications such as the Yale Law Journal and Georgetown Law Journal, and popular publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and National Review. He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, Hardball, Bill Moyers, the Lehrer News Hour, Fox News Special Report, ABC News, Washington Journal, and numerous other national and local television and radio programs. His 2001 book, Unfree Speech: the Folly of Campaign Finance Reform, was lauded by George Will as the year’s “most important book on governance.”

Professor Smith currently teaches law at Capital University Law School. He has won numerous awards for his scholarship and teaching, and is a member of the Advisory Committee to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Election Law, the Editorial Board of the Election Law Journal, and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Commissioner Smith is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Kalamazoo College, and holds an honorary degree from Augustana College.