A super PAC the GOP warns is linked to Democrats is funding third-party candidates in Iowa and other states, in a move that could be designed as a “spoiler” effort to take critical votes away from Republicans in tight races.
Principled Patriots PAC attracted scrutiny this week as it backs third-party candidates in a series of states with competitive Senate races between Republicans and Democrats, including Iowa, Texas, Alaska, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, and Ohio. Principled Patriots is also backing multiple third-party candidates in tight House races nationwide, including Colorado and North Carolina.
Principled Patriots has been accused of waging a dark-money influence campaign for Democrats because it garnered a $250,000 donation in late September from Building America, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Building America is a super PAC that is connected to Rapid Resist Action, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit organization. Rapid Resist Action donated $25,000 to Building America in June, according to FEC filings.
Rapid Resist Action has donated to Building America in the past, including $1.7 million in 2024. Rapid Resist Action has been connected to David Slifka and Yonatan Landau, according to ProPublica. Slifka has pushed to strengthen ActBlue, Democrats’ primary fundraising machine. Landau is the founder of Contest Every Race, a national effort to recruit Democrats for rural seats that usually go to uncontested Republicans.
Iowa Republicans on Thursday expressed concern that Democrats are trying to use dark money to flip the state’s Senate seat blue by pouring funding into third-party candidacies. Republican Senate nominee Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek are battling to succeed outgoing Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) in one of the tightest races nationwide.
Principled Patriots PAC is backing third-party Senate candidate Thomas Laehn in Iowa.
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“Chuck Schumer and his allies are trying to buy this race for [Turek],” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann warned in a post to X. “They helped buy Turek the primary, and now they’re pouring dark money into a third-party spoiler campaign to divide the vote and help him in November. It’s a disgraceful attempt to deceive Iowa voters, and it should be called out for exactly what it is.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Principled Patriots for comment.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
