Soft money in campaign finance refers to money that is...

• A. Soft money is money spent on campaign ads.
• B. Soft money refers to money not subject to same restrictions, often used for party-building efforts.
• C. Soft money must be donated to campaigns directly.
• D. Soft money is unrelated to campaign finance.

Answer: (B)

Soft money describes funds that aren’t subject to the same limits and reporting rules as direct candidate contributions. These funds typically go to political parties rather than to a specific candidate and are used for party-building activities—like voter outreach, registration drives, and generic party advertising—rather than for funding a particular campaign. That contrast with hard money (direct contributions to candidates that are tightly regulated) helps explain why this option is the best choice: it captures both the looser restrictions and the party-focused use.

Other options don’t fit because money spent on campaign ads is usually considered hard money or independent expenditures, not soft money; soft money isn’t required to be donated directly to campaigns—it's funds given to parties or outside groups for broader party activities; and soft money is definitely connected to campaign finance, not unrelated.