Lincoln Project
| Lincoln Project | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | Super PAC |
| Founder(s): | George Conway, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson |
| Year founded: | 2019 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Super PACs |
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| Read more about super PACs and the super PACs covered on Ballotpedia. |
The Lincoln Project is a super PAC founded in 2019 to prevent the re-election of President Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Republican political strategists founded the super PAC, saying, "This effort asks all Americans of all places, creeds and ways of life to join in the seminal task of our generation: restoring to this nation leadership and governance that respects the rule of law, recognizes the dignity of all people and defends the Constitution and American values at home and abroad."[1]
As of November 2025, the organization said its purpose was to "protect the American Republic from Donald Trump and those who identify (publicly or privately) as MAGA supporters."[2] Though initially founded by Republican strategists, the super PAC "has expanded to include individuals from across the political spectrum."[2]
Background
The Lincoln Project was formed in 2019 by a group of Republicans opposed to President Donald Trump (R). Four of the founders—George Conway, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson—announced the group's formation on December 17, 2019, in an op-ed published by The New York Times.[1] They wrote:
| “ |
Patriotism and the survival of our nation in the face of the crimes, corruption and corrosive nature of Donald Trump are a higher calling than mere politics. As Americans, we must stem the damage he and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution and the American character. That’s why we are announcing the Lincoln Project, an effort to highlight our country’s story and values, and its people’s sacrifices and obligations. This effort transcends partisanship and is dedicated to nothing less than preservation of the principles that so many have fought for, on battlefields far from home and within their own communities.[3] |
” |
| —George Conway, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson (December 17, 2019) | ||
Leadership
The following individuals were listed on the Lincoln Project's website as founders:[4]
- George Conway, attorney
- Reed Galen, independent political strategist
- Jennifer Horn, former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party
- Mike Madrid, former political director of the California Republican Party
- Steve Schmidt, communications and public affairs strategist
- Ron Steslow, brand and marketing strategist
- John Weaver, national political strategist
- Rick Wilson, author of Everything Trump Touches Dies
As of November 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Lincoln Project:[5]
- Rick Wilson, co-founder and board member
- Jeff Timmer, campaign manager and chief operations officer
Work and activities
Electoral activities and influence
2022 midterm election
The Lincoln Project spent $15 million to "drive awareness of key races, showcase MAGA extremism to selected audiences, and drive national press coverage to reshape the political narrative" and "produced 115 hours of original streaming content and produced 185 total podcast episodes yielding 30,409,460 total downloads."[6]
The Lincoln Project also founded The Union, a coalition of state and national organizations that were "committed to restoring the foundational principles of American democracy."[7][8] During the election, The Union consisted of 62,000 volunteers who focused on recruitment, training, and deployment in key elections.[6]
2020 presidential election
The Lincoln Project released its first ad in January 2020 in a clip targeting evangelical Trump supporters.[9] In April 2020, the group began releasing ads focused on Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic.[10] Other ads questioned the state of Trump's health, criticized Trump's policy on China, and praised Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.[11]
In August 2020, the Lincoln Project ran a $4 million ad campaign in eight battleground states—Arizona, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—during the 2020 Republican National Convention. The super PAC also launched a partnership with Vote Common Good to influence white evangelicals and Catholics to vote for Biden. The initiative was focused on North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida.[12][13]
2020 U.S. Senate elections
The Lincoln Project targeted the following incumbent Republican senators:[14]
- Susan Collins (Maine)
- Cory Gardner (Colo.)
- Martha McSally (Ariz.)
- Lindsey Graham (S.C.)
- Thom Tillis (N.C.)
- Joni Ernst (Iowa)
- John Cornyn (Texas)
- Mitch McConnell (Ky.)
- Steve Daines (Mont.)
- Daniel Sullivan (Alaska)
The group's co-founder, Reed Galen, said, "The stated goal from the beginning was to defeat Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to call out his enablers. These senators we’ve gone after are not conservative Republicans in any classical sense of those words ... they should have T's behind their names, not R's."[14]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the Lincoln Project revenues and expenses from 2019 to 2025. The information comes from the Federal Election Commission.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | $87 million | $82 million |
| 2021-2022 | $31 million | $35 million |
| 2023-2024 | $24 million | $24 million |
| 2025 | $3.5 million | $3.4 million |
Noteworthy events
John Weaver's admission of sexual harassment allegations; resignation of founding members (2021)
In January 2021, several media outlets, including The New York Times and The American Conservative, alleged that Weaver sexually harassed young men online, often within the context of possible employment. The interactions between Weaver and the men ranged from messages and phone calls to consensual sex, with the youngest man on record being 14 years old at the time of initial contact. None of the men accused Weaver of illegal behavior but, instead, highlighted what they said were issues of grooming and misuse of power.[15][16]
Weaver released a statement to Axios on January 15, 2021: "The truth is that I'm gay. And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place. To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you."[17] Weaver left the Lincoln Project in 2021.[17]
Following the allegations, the Lincoln Project said in a statement: "John Weaver led a secret life that was built on a foundation of deception at every level. He is a predator, a liar, and an abuser. We extend our deepest sympathies to those who were targeted by his deplorable and predatory behavior. The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it. Like so many, we have been betrayed and deceived by John Weaver. We are grateful beyond words that at no time was John Weaver in the physical presence of any member of the Lincoln Project."[18]
Reporters alleged that Lincoln Project leadership knew of Weaver's sexual harassment before January 2021. Co-founder Schmidt denied the allegations of previous knowledge, with an independent investigation finding in June 2021 that "leadership was unaware of the accusations against Mr. Weaver until they were made public."[19] Co-founders Schmidt, Horn, Steslow, and Madrid left the project between December 2020 and February 2021.[20]
See also
- What is an influencer?
- Donald Trump
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2020
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Joe Biden presidential campaign, 2020
External links
- The Lincoln Project
- The Lincoln Project on Facebook
- The Lincoln Project on X
- The Lincoln Project on Instagram
- The Lincoln Project on YouTube
- The Lincoln Project on TikTok
- The Lincoln Project on Bluesky
- The Lincoln Project on Threads
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The New York Times, "We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated," December 17, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Lincoln Project, "Our Mission," accessed November 25, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Lincoln Project, "Team," accessed September 8, 2020
- ↑ The Lincoln Project, "Leadership," accessed November 25, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Lincoln Project, "The Lincoln Project’s 2022 Midterm Wrap-up," accessed November 25, 2025
- ↑ The Union, "Who We Are," accessed November 25, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "The Lincoln Project," accessed November 26, 2025
- ↑ ABC News, "Anti-Trump Republican group targets evangelical voters with new ad," January 10, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "George Conway group rejects Trump claim of impeachment distraction in coronavirus response," April 9, 2020
- ↑ YouTube, "The Lincoln Project," accessed June 23, 2020
- ↑ CNBC, "Anti-Trump super PAC Lincoln Project runs $4 million ad blitz during week of Republican National Convention," August 24, 2020
- ↑ Politico, "'Never Trump' Republicans team with progressives to convert the president's religious base," August 4, 2020
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Hill, "Lincoln Project expands GOP target list, winning Trump ire," August 11, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "21 Men Accuse Lincoln Project Co-Founder of Online Harassment," January 31, 2021
- ↑ The American Conservative, "The Lincoln Project’s Predator," January 11, 2021
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Axios, "John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges 'inappropriate' messages," January 15, 2021
- ↑ The Guardian, "Lincoln Project condemns co-founder accused of making overtures to young men," February 1, 2021
- ↑ The New York Times, "Toyota says it will stop donating to Republicans who contested the election results." July 8, 2021
- ↑ Politico, "The Lincoln Project implodes amid infighting and scandal," February 12, 2021
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