Soros, Progressive Megadonors Bankroll Democratic Congressional Races

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (R) chats with former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) C) before President Joe Biden's third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington on March 7, 2024. SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP

Groups backed by George Soros and other liberal megadonors sent millions in the first quarter of 2024 to groups backing Democratic Party candidates in congressional races.

On April 15 and April 20, House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC filed public disclosure statements with the Federal Election Commission detailing their fundraising activities during the first three months of the year.

Both groups are not officially tied to the Democratic Party, but they will be spending heavily to help Democrats win seats in the House and Senate. House Majority PAC already announced it will pay $186 million to help the Democratic Party take the House of Representatives from the Republican Party.

According to the FEC, the two political action committees —registered as HMP and SMP— had about $155.6 million in cash on hand at the end of March. In the first three months of 2024, the two PACs brought in about $67.8 million and spent about $19.8 million.

The two groups’ cash on hand exceeds the total of about $112.2 million the Democratic Party’s official congressional spending groups—the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee—said they held at the end of March.

It also surpasses the amount raised by the GOP’s unofficial congressional groups, the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund. The pair reported about $128.1 million on hand at the end of March.

The groups made only one significant transfer against a Republican candidate during the first quarter. In March, Senate Majority sent $3 million to a newly formed super political action committee called WinSenate.

On April 20, WinSenate reported it bought about $2.5 million in ads against Republican Party candidate Eric Hovde in March. Mr. Hovde is one of many Republicans running in the party’s primary election for a Senate seat in Wisconsin.

The Badger State will vote in a partisan primary election on August 13 to determine which Republican will run in November against Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is seeking a third Senate term. She is also the Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

A recent poll conducted by Marquette University Law School and published on April 17 named Mr. Hovde the Republican frontrunner.

“As out-of-touch, carpetbagging GOP candidates try and use their shady wealth to buy Senate seats across the map, these resources have never been more important,” Senate Majority PAC President J.B. Poersch said in a statement.

“In the coming months, SMP is ready to hold these extremists accountable for their agenda to ban abortion, raise prescription drug costs, and take away voters’ access to health care.”

Four big spenders sent contributions to both the Senate and House Majority PACs: Democracy PAC II; Working For Working Americans; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Fred Eychaner.

Democracy PACII, which received $175 million from liberal megadonor George Soros between 2021 and 2022, sent $4 million to both groups in the first quarter. Mr. Soros is the founder of the Open Society Foundation.

According to donor rankings maintained by the watchdog group OpenSecrets, Mr. Soros was the biggest spender on the 2022 midterm election cycle.

Hungarian-born U.S. investor and philanthropist George Soros at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Working For Working Americans, a super PAC funded by the United Brotherhood Of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC), sent $5 million to Senate Majority and $2 million to House Majority in the first quarter of 2024.

FEC records show the PAC consistently funds both the House and Senate Majority.

Mr. Eychaner, the founder of Newsweb Corp., sent $3 million to House Majority and $2 million to Senate Majority in the first three months of 2024. He is also a significant backer of President Joe Biden’s reelection effort.

OpenSecrets currently ranks Mr. Eychaner as the 15th largest individual donor of the 2024 cycle.

AFSCME, a trade union representing 1.4 million public employees, sent $1.7 million to both the House and Senate Majorities in March 2024. In March, the group formally announced it would organize and mobilize to support President Biden’s reelection effort.

An additional megadonor, James Simons, contributed $2.5 million to Senate Majority in February. A renowned mathematician and the founder of financial firm Renaissance Technologies, Mr. Simons is considered one of the greatest investors of all time. According to OpenSecrets donor records, he is a regular contributor to Democratic Paarty causes and funds.

Jeff Skoll, founder of the Skoll Foundation and a former president of eBay Inc., donated $2 million to Senate Majority PAC in January.  OpenSecret donor records show Mr. Skoll is a consistent, multi-million-dollar donor to Senate Majority.

Mr. Skoll is also the founder of Participant Media LLC, which has produced more than 130 films since its foundation in 2004. Notable releases include “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Lincoln,” “Green Book,” and “Spotlight.” The company is also known for releasing films about left-wing figures like Cesar Chavez, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, John Lewis, and, most recently, Shirley Chisolm.

Million Dollar Gifts

The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), donated $1 million to Senate Majority in March. LIUNA is also sponsoring the Biden campaign, donating to a PAC supporting his run.

The Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group representing about 280 hospitals and health care companies in the greater New York area, sent $1 million to Senate Majority in February. OpenSecrets records indicate the association is a regular financial backer of Senate Majority.

Three men—Stephen Mandel, George Marcus, and Olan Mills Jr.—all sent a $1 million check each either to House Majority or Senate Majority.

Mr. Mills, an heir to the Olan Mills Inc. portrait photography company, is a regular donor to Senate Majority, according to OpenSecrets.

Mr. Mandel, founder of investment firm Lone Pine Capital LLC, gave House Majority $1 million in March.

Stephen Mandel and his wife, Susan Mandel, are both crucial, multimillion-dollar donors to the Democratic Party and progressive funds and causes, according to OpenSecrets.

Mr. Marcus, founder and chairman of the commercial real estate and financial services firm Marcus & Millichap Co., gave $1 million to House Majority in March and regularly gives to House Majority and Senate Majority, according to OpenSecrets.