United States Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, on Monday, January 31, 2022.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | beautiful pictures
Republican-led super PACs have appreciated their Democratic rivals in the second half of last year, giving them more financial clout ahead of this year’s congressional midterm elections.
Democrats hold a small majority in both houses of Congress, and Republicans are preparing to potentially topple the Senate and House of Representatives by midterms.
According to Federal Election Commission filings, the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund and the Republican-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund raised more than $90 million in the second half of 2021. The two groups are not inherently connected. together, has totaled over $100 million this year.
On the Democratic side, the House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC, unaffiliated, have raised more than $65 million in total and have a combined $70 million on hand, filings show. .
These PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts. The FEC disclosures do not reflect the amount of money affiliated nonprofits have raised.
The GOP’s comparative fundraising success represents another roadblock for Democratic leaders and candidates, especially as the party’s agenda has stalled. The president’s party also often loses seats in Congress in midterm elections.
Some of the party’s top donors spoke to top Democrats privately, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., that they won’t be donating more money while President Joe Biden is at $1.75 trillion, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. In this regard, the social and climate spending package is still not passed in Congress. These people declined to be named to speak freely about private Zoom chats.
While the House passed the legislation, known as the Better Rebuilding Act, the bill stalled in the Senate. Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va. effectively killed the measure when he said in December he would not support it. The Senate is split 50-50, and will need Manchin’s vote to pass it.
A Pelosi aide denied that the speaker of the House had heard such threats from donors. “Simply untrue. Not aware of any sponsors communicating that,” the aide told CNBC in an email Tuesday.
A representative for Schumer did not return a request for comment before this story was published.
Background support
Top donations to the Republican-backed Senate Leadership Fund in the second half of last year included a $14 million donation from the nonprofit One Nation. Like the Senate Leadership Foundation, One Nation is run by allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has given $5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and another $10 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund. Fossil fuel giant Chevron and Koch Industries, owned by the libertarian Koch family, have each given $500,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund.
Nonprofits also cut major checks on Democratic PACs.
House of Transitional Majority and Transitional Majority, two nonprofits affiliated with the Senate Majority PAC and the House Majority PAC, have combined to give more than $12 million to groups.
Other recent top donors to the House Majority PAC include Silicon Valley investors, Reid Hoffman, who donated just over $1.4 million, and Ron Conway, who donated $250,000 in the final months of 2021. Chicago businessman Fred Eychaner has donated $4 million to the Senate PAC.
The nonprofits that funded the GOP and Democratic super PACs last year did not publicly disclose their donors.
Meanwhile, Republican financiers say their networks are enthusiastic as Election Day approaches.
Eric Levine, an attorney who is raising money for some Senate Republicans, told CNBC that GOP-leaning business executives in particular mostly see the midterms as a check on potential potential for Biden.
“It blocks his agenda,” Levine said of the potential Republican takeover of Congress.
