Can this 'dark money' group help the Democrats keep the Senate?
Liberals may blame conservatives for the ongoing surge of political “dark money” dominating the 2014 midterm elections. But Democrats are now taking full advantage of these secretive, free-wheeling political behemoths, while at the same time, bemoaning their influence.
At the forefront: the nonprofit Patriot Majority USA, which is providing Democrats with a countervailing force against the political machine of conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch while using a similar playbook.
Related: Senate TV ads: Patriot Majority USA vs. Americans for Prosperity
This election cycle, Patriot Majority USA has spent more than $7 million on political advertisements, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. That makes it the largest Democratic-aligned dark money operation in the country.
Every dollar has fueled negative messages that call for the defeat of Republican politicians, who are seeking to pick up six Senate seats in November to win control of Congress’ upper chamber and who have generally seen more support from dark money groups.
Related: Key findings from our investigation into Patriot Majority USA
The union-backed Patriot Majority USA is led by a staunch ally of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has demonized the Koch brothers as “un-American” and railed against “hidden dark money which is corrupting our elections.”
The Senate races raging in Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina are of particular interest to Patriot Majority USA, which has run more than 11,000 TV ads across the three states, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of data provided by Kantar Media/CMAG, an advertising tracking service.
Related: Identified Patriot Majority USA donors since January 2011
The group has accounted for about one out of every nine ads aired in the Arkansas Senate race, one of every eight in Louisiana and one of every 13 in North Carolina.
That approaches — though does not yet match — the number of ads aired by the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity.
Related: Mike Brown Arkansas Senate race quote
“They want to spend their money in places where they think they can do some good,” said Charles Prysby, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Unlike candidates, parties and political action committees, nonprofits such as Patriot Majority USA and the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity are not legally required to disclose their donors.
Related: Who's buying the Senate?
But these nonprofits, frequently dubbed dark money groups, are allowed to fund advertising barrages that overtly call for the election or defeat of political candidates — or simply praise or criticize them.
In Arkansas in particular, Patriot Majority USA has for months branded Rep. Tom Cotton, the GOP’s Senate nominee, as “a politician we just can’t trust” and criticized him for voting against the farm bill.
Arkansas Democratic Party spokesman Patrick Burgwinkle welcomes Patriot Majority USA’s participation.
“Our side will be outspent in this race,” Burgwinkle said. “That’s why it’s important to have groups hold Congressman Cotton accountable to his reckless positions.”
There’s more to this story. Click here to read the rest at the Center for Public Integrity.
This story is part of Buying the Senate 2014. Whether Republicans control both chambers of Congress squarely depends on Senate races in a handful of states. Click here to read more stories in this investigation.
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Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
