The Senate Leadership Fund usually campaigns against several Democrats in the Senate.
More than$ 24 million was made in the first three weeks of 2024 by a very political action committee that was working to give the Republican Party the edge in the Senate.
The Senate Leadership Fund’s spokeswoman confirmed to The Epoch Times on April 9 that the super PAC raised$ 24.4 million between January and March of this year.
The first quarter’s budget, according to Federal Election Commission ( FEC ) records, would almost double the$ 37.5 million that the super PAC raised in 2023.
The Senate Leadership Fund is described as an “independent Super PAC” with the “unique goal of establishing a Democratic majority that will protect America from Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats ‘ dangerous far-left agenda.”
The Republican Party is never formally associated with The Fund. However, it is a crucial challenger to Democratic Party applicants for the court’s upper chamber.
In the midterm election phases of 2021 and 2022, the Fund spent about$ 290.9 million in opposition to several Democrats, according to FEC records. For example, the Fund spent about$ 47.5 million against Sen. John Fetterman ( D- Pa. ) and about$ 45.2 million attacking Sen. Raphael Warnock ( D- Ga. ).
The Fund’s April 9 news came about a year ahead of the FEC’s date for monthly disclosures. Full financial disclosure documents will be made available on April 15th, along with many other FEC-regulated committees that report on a weekly basis.
The Fund’s exercise for the entire calendar month of 2023 was reflected in its last statement, which was released on January 31. The 2023 statement said the Fund had roughly$ 35 million on hand.
The Senate Majority PAC ( SMP ) is Democrat-aligned, and the Fund is the conservative equivalent. The SMP is a super PAC that is registered with the FEC and is n’t officially associated with the Democratic Party, but it spends money attacking Republicans or supporting Democratic senators for the Senate.
The SMP, by contrast, told the FEC it had about$ 61.6 million on hand at the end of 2023. On April 15, it will also release its first third results.
Black Funds, Companies, and Megadonors
According to the FEC, the Senate Leadership Fund’s biggest individual funder in 2023 was One Nation, a 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) nonprofit. In December 2023, the party sent the Fund$ 5.18 million.
501 ( c ) ( 4 ) groups do not follow the same disclosure or donor rules as FEC- regulated committees. Because of this, they are often referred to as dark funds companies.
One Nation stated in its last tax return that it had$ 8.2 million in gross resources at the end of 2022.
Additionally, the Fund collected many seven-figure assessments from various businesses. The majority of them worked in the fuel industry.
According to the FEC, in 2023, the Fund received gifts of$ 2 million from Occidental Petroleum Corp.,$ 1.5 million from Chevron Corp.,$ 1 million from ConocoPhillips Co.,$ 1 million from Devon Energy Corp.,$ 1 million from Valero Energy Corp., and$ 1 million from the industry trade group The American Petroleum Institute.
The Fund likewise took in$ 500, 000 from Koch Industries Inc. and The Anschutz Corp.
According to FEC data, key Republican Party sponsors Ken Griffin, Warren Stephens, and Paul Singer contributed to the bank in 2023.
Mr. Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, gave$ 2.5 million. Both Mr. Stephens, the CEO of Stephens Inc., and Mr. Singer, the chairman, leader, i- CEO, and inc- key Investment Officer of Elliott Investment Management LLC, sent$ 2 million.
All three are significant Republican Party sponsors, according to sponsor records maintained by the watchdog group OpenSecrets. All three earlier backed past U. S. Ambassador to the U. N. Nikki Haley’s 2024 work for the GOP’s presidential election.
Another notable name gave more than$ 1 million: Rupert Murdoch.
Mr. Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp., is certainly a big donation but is a tall figure in the world of internet. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, The New York Post, and many other internet properties around the world. Mr. Murdoch even founded Fox Corp., which owns Fox News, among different media and entertainment components.
Mr. Murdoch, according to FEC records, gave the Senate Leadership Fund$ 2 million in 2023. According to OpenSecrets, Mr. Murdoch has given to the Senate Leadership Fund before.