Five Things We Didn't Know About 2012 Until Last Night, and More

◼ We know, we know: 2012 is over, done, in the rear-view mirror. But in the campaign finance world, midnight last night marked a sort of reckoning for 2012 politicos and entities, as it ws the FEC's deadline for filing all year-end campaign finance reports. - OpenSecrets.org

Obama and Democrats finished in the red, while Team Romney kept in the black.

Obama and DNC win, but end year with combined $21.5m in debt. The RNC is debt- free with $4.7m in cash reserves.

— Fredreka Schouten (@fschouten) February 1, 2013
If nothing else, Romney campaign efficient about closing out its books. Ended year with $383K cash on hand and just $825K in debt.

◼ Romney campaign gave $90K to Red Cross after Sandy - Politico

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign quietly donated nearly $90,000 to the Red Cross in late November, according to a report filed Thursday night with the Federal Election Commission.

The donation came on Nov. 30 – about one month after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast, stretching thin the organization’s resources, and weeks after the GOP candidate lost to President Barack Obama.

Neither Romney nor his campaign publicized the donation, despite liberal allegations in the days before the election that he had used the Red Cross as a political prop.