Grover Norquist nonprofit funded pro-Republican women’s group
Americans for Tax Reform, the anti-tax group headed by Grover Norquist, helped bankroll Independent Women’s Voice, a conservative-leaning nonprofit that has pushed to elect Republican political candidates, according to new tax documents reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity.
In 2013, Americans for Tax Reform contributed $260,000 to Independent Women’s Voice — a grant that accounted for about 13 percent of its $1.98 million in revenue last year.
Based in Washington, D.C., and led by Heather Higgins, Independent Women’s Voice in recent years has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars backing Republican politicians such as 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Chris McDaniel, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., in a contentious primary earlier this year.
In 2013, Independent Women’s Voice spent about $160,000, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, aiding Republican Mark Sanford, the former governor of South Carolina, during a special election contest in which he ultimately prevailed over Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. It also wants to see President Barack Obama’s health care reform law repealed.
That spending was part of an overall surge of political activity last year by Independent Women’s Voice, which says it aims to “engage more women in the political process.”
The nonprofit told the Internal Revenue Service it spent nearly $960,000 on all “direct and indirect political campaign activities” in 2013 — about 41 percent of the $2.3 million it spent last year — according to a recently filed tax return.
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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.
