Senate Majority PAC
| Senate Majority PAC | |
 | |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Year created: | 2011 |
| Website: | Official website |
Senate Majority PAC,[1] earlier known as Majority PAC[2] and founded in June 2010 as Commonsense Ten,[3] is a Super PAC. It was launched in 2011[4] with the goal of maintaining a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and preventing a "radical Tea Party take-over."[5] The PAC was focused on 2012, when 23 Democratic Senate seats were up for election, compared to 10 Republican seats.[6]
Background
The PAC was created in 2011 by Democratic strategists, including advisers to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in order to combat the conservative PACs.[4]
According to Politico:[4]
The operation is in seasoned hands. Longtime Reid strategist Rebecca Lambe and Reid’s former chief of staff, Susan McCue, are leading the charge — along with Craig Varoga, who runs the Patriot Majority. Two other veteran political operatives who once led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — J.B. Poersch and Jim Jordan — are also spearheading the effort, as are veteran Democratic fundraiser Monica Dixon and longtime Democratic attorney Marc Elias.
2014 elections
From April 17-30, 2014, the PAC spent:[7][8]
- $401,021 against Senate candidate Thom Tillis, (R-S.C.)
- $317,832 against Scott Brown, (R-N.H.)
- $188,000 to Put Alaska First PAC
Donors
- From April 17-30, 2014, the group reported it had receipts of $5.7 million.[7]
- Thomas Steyer, founder of Fahr LLC in San Francisco, California, gave $5 million through his NextGen Action Committee. Steyer was also founder of the hedge fund Farallon Capital Management.[7]
- Steyer has reportedly budgeted $100 million for campaigns in 2014.[7]
- He is an opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline.[7]
Other large donors included:[7]
- $150,000 from William Little, chairman of George Little Management LLC in New York, New York
- $100,000 from Matthew Collins, CEO of 1 Source Consulting in Virginia
- $100,000 from Mark Headley, chairman of Matthews International Capital Management in California
- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $2.5 million to the Senate Majority PAC in January 2014.[9]
2012 elections
According to the Sunlight Foundation, the Majority PAC spent $37,477,541 on the 2012 elections. Of those funds, 87.86 percent achieved the desired result, based on Sunlight Foundation analysis.[10] Open Secrets also analyzed the success of 2012 general election cycle spending:[11]
Pre-election
In October, Majority PAC reported raising $10.4 million in September and an additional $9.7 million through the middle of October.[12]
Expenditures
As of April 11, 2013, Majority PAC had spent a total of $37,498,257, $3,651,229 for Democrats and $33,847,028 against Republicans.[13]
| Top 10 largest Majority PAC expenditures in 2012[13] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | For | Against | Desired Result |
| George Allen |  |
VA | Senate | $5,048,835 | $0 | $5,048,835 |  |
| Tommy Thompson | |
WI | Senate | $4,682,491 | $0 | $4,682,491 | |
| Richard Mourdock | |
IN | Senate | $4,274,805 | $0 | $4,274,805 | |
| Rick Berg | |
ND | Senate | $3,252,808 | $0 | $3,252,808 | |
| Josh Mandel | |
OH | Senate | $3,228,003 | $0 | $3,228,003 | |
| Denny Rehberg | |
MT | Senate | $2,996,159 | $0 | $2,996,159 | |
| Linda McMahon | |
CT | Senate | $2,535,957 | $0 | $2,535,957 | |
| Jeff Flake | |
AZ | Senate | $2,065,097 | $0 | $2,065,097 |  |
| Todd Akin | |
MO | Senate | $1,713,536 | $0 | $1,713,536 | |
| Dean Heller | |
NV | Senate | $1,147,384 | $0 | $1,147,384 | |
Campaign ads
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Donors
Organizations
As of April 29, 2013, the top 5 donors to the Majority PAC were:[14]
| Top 5 Donors to Majority PAC, 2012[14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupation/Employer | Total | From Individuals | From Organizations |
| Newsweb Corp | $4,300,000 | $4,300,000 | $0 |
| Euclidean Capital | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $0 |
| Carpenters & Joiners Union | $2,450,000 | $0 | $2,450,000 |
| American Federation of Teachers | $2,000,000 | $0 | $2,000,000 |
| American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees | $1,000,000 | $0 | $1,000,000 |
Industries
As of April 29, 2013, the top 5 industries donating to the Majority PAC were:[15]
| Top 5 Donors to Majority PAC, 2012[15] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Total | From Individuals | From Organizations |
| Printing & Publishing | $4,920,000 | $4,920,000 | $0 |
| Public Sector Unions | $4,665,000 | $0 | $4,665,000 |
| Building Trade Unions | $4,550,000 | $0 | $4,550,000 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $4,351,900 | $2,170,900 | $2,181,000 |
| Misc Finance | $3,358,500 | $3,153,500 | $205,000 |
External links
- Social media:
- Fact-checking:
- Financial:
- Media coverage:
References
- ↑ Federal Election Commission: "Statement of Organization," March 8, 2013"
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Statement of Organization," March 9, 2011
- ↑ Federal Election Commission: "Statement of Organization," June 11, 2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Politico, "Senate Dems launch 'super PAC'," February 22, 2011
- ↑ Majority PAC: "What Is Majority PAC?," accessed May 10, 2012
- ↑ Majority PAC: "Our Mission," accessed May 10, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Roll Call, "A $5 Million Check Fuels Super PAC," accessed May 26, 2014
- ↑ Open Secrets: "Majority PAC 2014 election cycle," accessed July 15, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Michael Bloomberg gives $2.5M to Senate Majority PAC," accessed January 22, 2014
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation: "Outside spenders' return on investment," November 14, 2012
- ↑ Open Secrets: "Majority PAC," accessed July 15, 2013
- ↑ The New York Times, "With Growing Willingness, Donors Come to Aid of Democratic ‘Super PACs’," October 19, 2012
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 OpenSecrets: "Majority PAC Independent Expenditures," accessed July 15, 2013
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Open Secrets: "Top Organizations Donating to Majority PAC, 2012," accessed July 15, 2013
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Open Secrets: "Contributions to Majority PAC Industry Breakdown, 2012," accessed July 15, 2013
