Democratic group launches super PAC to counter election deniers running for office
Editor’s Note (May 2, 2022, 10:32 a.m. ET): NBC News has determined that a section about the group Bridge to Democracy in an earlier version of this article was not properly attributed to its original source and did not meet our standards for original material. The section has been removed from the article.
WASHINGTON — The Democratic organization American Bridge 21st Century said it is launching a new multi-million dollar super PAC targeting Republican candidates running for key state and local offices who have denied the results of the 2020 election.
"Our plan is to target extremist Republicans who want to overturn our democracy and expose their dangerous ideas," said Pat Dennis, vice president of research at American Bridge, in a video on Twitter, announcing the campaign.
The new group, called Bridge to Democracy, has already identified the positions in key states "that are most essential to election administration and to election certification in 2024," said Dennis.
The super PAC plans to target races in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
"I think that the number one goal is to fill a hole that we see in the ecosystem, which is, as Trump and Republicans have turned their attention to these down ballot races and making sure that they have their allies installed in preparation for 2024, we want to put a spotlight on that because I think that voters fundamentally want to make sure that their vote counts," Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge PAC, told NBC News.
The New York Times first reported on the new PAC.
The group's announcement comes as former President Donald Trump has backed dozens of candidates, particularly at the state level, who have voiced support for his lie that the 2020 election was rigged against him. Fifty-nine of the 91 people he's endorsed have questioned the 2020 election results, according to an NBC News review, including those who voted against certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in Congress.
In addition to questioning the 2020 election result, 10 candidates who received Trump’s endorsement attended his rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, that preceded the Capitol riot.
On Tuesday, the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack subpoenaed a half-dozen people, including Mark Finchem, who is running for secretary of state in Arizona and has been endorsed by Trump.
