A collection of the most active left-wing political action committees held more than $143 million at the end of April, according to new Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosures.
On May 20, eight of the biggest progressive PACs issued monthly financial statements covering their activities in April. The documents revealed that important Democrat megadonors continue to pour money into the PACs ahead of the November election.
According to the FEC, PACs tied to American Bridge, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, House Majority, League of Conservation Voters, the Service Employees International Union, Unite the Country, and VoteVets raised about $21.6 million in April.
House Majority PAC
House Majority PAC has the most cash on hand of the groups.According to the FEC, the hybrid PAC had about $67 million in cash on hand at the end of April. During the month, it raised $4.9 million and spent $1.2 million.
While House Majority PAC supports Democrats, it is not officially affiliated with the Democratic Party or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
In the 118th Congress, Republicans are still the majority party in the House despite some departures. All 435 House seats will be up for election in November 2024.
In April, the hybrid PAC ActBlue sent House Majority PAC about $1 million. ActBlue is a PAC that collects money from so-called small-dollar donors and sends it to Democratic Party candidates and causes.
House Majority PAC also collected a $1 million donation from a group associated with the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada.
In April, the United Association Political Issues Fund sent House Majority PAC $1 million. According to FEC records, the same group sent House Majority PAC $750,000 in 2023.
Along with those groups, Democrat strategist Marsha Laufer sent $1 million to House Majority PAC in April. Ms. Laufer is a member of the National Democratic Training Committee’s advisory board, according to that group’s website.
Ms. Laufer is married to billionaire Henry Laufer, who was formerly an executive at financial firm Renaissance Technologies LLC.
According to a donor profile maintained by watchdog organization OpenSecrets, the Laufers are consistent seven-figure donors to progressive PACs and causes such as House Majority PAC’s Senate counterpart, Senate Majority PAC.
House Majority PAC is closely associated with the 501(c)(4) nonprofit House Majority Forward. According to the organization’s latest tax return, Mike Smith is the president of both the PAC and the nonprofit.
Nonprofit organizations with a 501 designation are often referred to as dark money groups because they’re not required to disclose their donors.
According to its tax records, House Majority Forward gave House Majority PAC $7.65 million in 2022. In the past two years, the 501 group sent the PAC about $8.3 million, according to the FEC.
More Megadonors Chip In
Out of the progressive PACs, American Bridge 21st Century’s AB PAC received the most donations in April.AB PAC took in about $7.1 million during the month and sent out about $1.3 million. It ended the month with about $12 million on hand.
On May 13, American Bridge announced what it called its first wave of a $140 million media campaign that will roll out in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It will target former President Donald Trump’s position on abortion.
In April, AB PAC collected a $4.8 million donation from Michael Moritz, a longtime partner at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and now a senior adviser at Sequoia Heritage.
Mr. Moritz is a major contributor to AB PAC. He sent the hybrid PAC $10 million between 2019 and 2023, according to the FEC and donor records maintained by OpenSecrets.
AB PAC also took in a $750,000 donation from Democracy PAC in April, which is closely associated with progressive megadonor George Soros and his son Alexander Soros.
Also in April, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy got a boost from a company founded by Melinda French Gates.
The Campaign is a joint venture of the 501(c)(4) organization Family Friendly Action Fund and the hybrid CFFE PAC.
According to its monthly statement, the Campaign’s PAC collected about $2 million in April while using about $93,000. It ended April with about $3.2 million cash on hand.
However, according to a social media statement, Ms. Gates said she will have “an additional $12.5 billion to commit to my work on behalf of women and families.” It remains unclear if any of those billions will go toward political causes.
So far in the 2023–2024 election cycle, Pivotal Ventures is CFFE PAC’s biggest sponsor. It’s now sent $3 million to the PAC.
According to an undated release published on its website, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy recently launched “issue advocacy field programs across the country.”
The advocacy drive is focused on Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Almost all of the states are important for the control of the Senate as well as the presidential race.
In a release, the Campaign said its drive will include door-to-door canvassing and “relational organizing, recruiting members of the community to speak to their friends and families and encouraging them to contact their lawmakers.”
