Why super PACs with GOP ties are donating to Democratic candidates
A recent string of donations to Democratic political candidates is raising eyebrows after publications uncovered that the donations came from organizations connected to the Republican Party.
The super PAC Lead Left has donated more than $1 million to at least three Democratic congressional primaries, according to The New York Times, which reported that the donations were an attempt by Republicans to keep control of the House of Representatives. The donations are also going to candidates in national races in Texas, Nebraska and Pennsylvania, all states that supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
This begs the question: why are Republicans paying to support a Democrat, especially since many Democrats believe a blue wave is coming in rebuke of the last two years under Trump?
Who is the super PAC supporting?
Lead Left and an additional super PAC, which is formally aligned with House Republicans, have given money to Democratic candidates, The Times reported. In three of those races, the candidates are part of the Democratic Party’s “red to blue” program, which is a special category for top recruits in key races that could change the House majority. Centrist House Democrats also support the candidates.
One of the candidates Lead Left has donated to is Maureen Galindo in Texas’ 35th Congressional District. Republicans redrew that district last year. Galindo has faced major criticisms from the right and left for her remarks about how she would turn an ICE facility into a “prison for American Zionists.” Democrats have called her comments “antisemitic,” and she garnered backlash over her remarks about her ICE prison plans.
“It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists,” Galindo wrote on Instagram.
The Times reported that Galinda had raised less than $10,000 through March but finished first in the initial primary two months ago. She now faces Johnny Garcia, who is backed by centrist Democrats, in the upcoming primary runoffs on Tuesday.
Rep. Adam Gray, D-Calif., is the chair of the centrist Democrat super PAC Blue Dog PAC. He called the Republican efforts to undermine a Democratic race a “callous political ploy” that showed Republicans were scared despite the recent gerrymandering.
“They’re going into Democratic primaries and literally trying to boost the most extreme candidates and oppose the Blue Dog-endorsed candidates that, if they win, are going to beat the Republicans in the general,” Gray told The Times.
Is Lead Left a Republican PAC?
While its name might fool some, prior reporting has found Republican ties to Lead Left, the PAC that gives much of its money to Democratic candidates.
Punchbowl News uncovered that the PAC was registered to a treasurer who hasn’t previously registered a political committee. The address matched a Staples store in Tallahassee, Florida.
The ads the group has run in other Democratic campaigns in Nebraska are similar in messaging to previous ads paid for by a nonprofit linked to House Republicans, called the American Action Network. Metadata on Lead Left PAC’s website also linked to WinRed, a large Republican donation-processing firm, Punchbowl News reported. The metadata was removed from the site after the outlet released its report.
One conventional political strategy in primary politics involves boosting support for a more fringe candidate that wouldn’t appeal to a general electoral audience. In this situation, Republicans would hope for a more extreme Democratic candidate to win their primary, and make it easier for the Republican candidate to win over undecided or more moderate voters in the general election.
Madison Andrus, who is a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson, said the Republican interference was “extremely dangerous,” especially given Galinda’s previous antisemitic statements.
“No matter what your politics are, using virulent antisemitism for your own partisan gain is nothing short of disgusting,” Andrus told The Texas Tribune.
Have parties used this tactic before?
This tactic has been around for decades.
In 2022, Democrats spent millions on Republican candidates they believed would be easier to beat in a general election. A key difference was that Democrats were more open to it, as it was openly discussed and publicly disclosed.
The discussions led some Democrats to condemn the inter-party meddling, like former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., who sat on the Jan. 6 investigation panel.
“No race is worth compromising your values in that way,” Murphy said, according to Politico. “To have people boosting candidates telling the very kinds of lies that caused Jan. 6 and continues to put our democracy in danger, is just mind-blowing.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
