Name: ‘Dark money’ groups find new ways to hide donors in 2020 election
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‘Dark money’ groups find new ways to hide donors in 2020 election

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Close“Dark money” groups have poured more than $750 million into 2020 elections through ad spending and record-breaking contributions to political committees such as super PACs.That’s according to OpenSecrets research in . The top 20 dark money groups spending 2020 elections account for nearly half-a-billion of that sum. And in a continuation from the 2018 midterms, when liberal dark money groups reported more spending than their conservative counterparts for the first time in history, Democrats are receiving more help from dark money groups than Republicans.&nbsp;Out of all dark money spending in 2020, only $95.6 million was reported to the Federal Election Commission as direct outside spending, lower than any other election cycle since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision. Groups that do not disclose their donors have instead and diverted more cash to “” that are not reported to the FEC.Secret donor-funded “dark money” spending reported to the FEC has officially surpassed $1 billion in the decade since Citizens United. But in recent election cycles, record amounts of money are flooding U.S. elections through other channels.&nbsp;Super PACs and other political committees that are legally required to disclose their donors have taken a record-breaking amount of dark money contributions during the 2020 election.&nbsp; Opaque sources such as shell companies and nonprofits that do not disclose their donors have given around $430 million to outside groups.None of the top outside groups that have spent more than $100 million in the 2020 election fully disclose their donors. Only 30 percent of all outside spending comes from groups that disclose their donors completely, an all-time low.&nbsp;This kind of FEC-reported “grey” money spending by groups that only partially disclose their donors has surpassed $1.6 billion one week out from the 2020 election, more than any prior cycle in OpenSecrets data. The 2020 election cycle has already seen around eight times the amount of grey money spending compared with 2016.&nbsp;One of the biggest dark money players operating largely behind the scenes on the left is the . The 501(c)(4) nonprofit has contributed around $52 million from secret donors to federal political committees boosting Democrats during the 2020 election cycle. Sixteen Thirty Fund projects have also spent more than $2.6 million on Facebook ads during the 2020 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets’ .&nbsp;Liberal dark money outspending conservative counterparts&nbsp;Dark money has become an increasingly popular tool for political actors on the left. Liberal dark money groups in 2018 for the first election cycle since Citizens United, a trend that continues in 2020.&nbsp;One week out from Election Day 2020, liberal dark money groups have reported spending more than four times the amount of their conservative counterparts with around $66.5 million disclosed to the FEC.&nbsp;&nbsp;Liberal political committees such as super PACs have taken nearly $260 million from dark money groups while conservative political committees have taken around $139 million during the 2020 election cycle. Liberal groups have spent more than $73 million on TV ads while their conservative counterparts have spent around $64 million.&nbsp;Anti-Trump 501(c)(4) nonprofit has reported more spending to the FEC than another other dark money group with more than $15 million in spending opposing President or boosting Democratic nominee .A lesser-known 501(c)(4) nonprofit called is spending millions on digital ads and donated $5 million to , making it the pro-Biden super PAC’s largest donor to date.&nbsp;The dark money group labeled itself the strategy center for Democrats in 2020 and announced plans to spend to target voters in swing states in 2019 but kept a relatively low profile until August. Since then, the 501(c)(4) poured more than $1 million into on Facebook and Google., a new hybrid PAC, poured around $100 million into ads backing Biden in the presidential race and took a from its affiliated 501(c)(4) nonprofit in the final months of the election. In addition to dark money funding from its allied nonprofit, Future Forward USA Action, the super PAC received $3.9 million from the .A recently created super PAC, , has spent more than $16.6 million, most of that after New York Attorney General Letitia James against the National Rifle Association in August. While the super PAC is legally required to disclose its donors, it has been heavily funded by the NRA’s 501(c)(4) nonprofit arm with millions of dollars in contributions from secret sources, adding an extra layer of insulation to keep the identity of donors hidden.Party-aligned groups dominate dark donations&nbsp;Party-aligned groups are spending more than ever and increasingly turning to secret donors during the 2020 election cycle to fuel political advertising while disclosing only a small fraction of that spending to the FEC.&nbsp;More than $215 million has flowed into 2020 elections through dark money groups aligned with through this political ad spending and political contributions to allied super PACs.Senate Democrats’ has poured more than $38 million into 2020 elections with tens of millions of dollars on undisclosed TV ads before beginning to disclose its spending when the FEC’s disclosure window went into effect, according to research in . Since then, Senate Democrats’ main dark money group has reported more than $3 million in spending to the FEC.Majority Forward gave more than to political groups included , a super PAC that shares the dark money group’s staff and resources, and during the 2020 election cycle.An even newer super PAC called created Oct. 5 to oppose Sen. (R-Alaska) got from Majority Forward, with money starting to pour in the day after it formed.&nbsp;Nearly $20 million has come from Senate Democrats’ other dark money affiliate, , and $15.5 million in 2020 spending can be traced to congressional Democrats’ .Senate Republican leadership-aligned 501(c)(4) nonprofit has funneled more money into U.S. federal elections than any other dark money group in the 2020 election cycle with around $102 million going to ., a super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader (R-Ky.) that shares staff and resources with One Nation, received around $62.6 million from the dark money group. While the super PAC is legally required to disclose its contributors to the FEC, reporting contributions from the dark money group hides the ultimate source of those funds and One Nation has not reported any 2020 spending to the FEC whatsoever.&nbsp;, 501(c)(4) nonprofit that has disclosed none of its donors or spending to the FEC, has poured over $9 million into political advertising boosting GOP congressional candidates and more than $26 million into political contributions to the , House Republicans’ super PAC that shared staff and resources with American Action Network.But American Action Network isn’t the Congressional Leadership Fund’s only dark money donor. Last week, the Campaign Legal Center filed an alleging that “Montcalm LLC,” which gave $150,000 to the super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund less than two weeks after incorporating, violated the ban on making political contributions in the name of another.This cycle’s historically expensive races have been some of the biggest magnets for dark money.race has seen more than $3.1 million in direct dark money spending reported to the FEC, more than any other congressional election. Other states with Senate races attacking include , and , which is poised to have the in American history.Researcher Andrew Mayersohn contributed to this report.Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit OpenSecrets. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact OpenSecrets:Read more OpenSecrets News &amp; Analysis:Support Accountability JournalismAt OpenSecrets.org we offer in-depth, money-in-politics stories in the public interest. Whether you’re reading about 2020 presidential fundraising, conflicts of interest or “dark money” influence, we produce this content with a small, but dedicated team. Every donation we receive from users like you goes directly into promoting high-quality data analysis and investigative journalism that you can trust.OpenSecrets is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Your donation is tax-exempt.Anna is OpenSecrets' Editorial and Investigations Manager. She is also responsible for OpenSecrets' dark money research and researches foreign influence as a part of Foreign Lobby Watch. Anna holds degrees in political science and psychology from North Carolina State University and a J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law.Want first access to OpenSecrets' investigations and data features? .Sign up for our newsletter to track money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy.A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization,(202) 857-0044Except for the Revolving Door section, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License by OpenSecrets.org. To request permission for commercial use, .

Close“Dark money” groups have poured more than $750 million into 2020 elections through ad spending and record-breaking contributions to political committees such as super PACs.That’s according to OpenSecrets research in . The top 20 dark money groups spending 2020 elections account for nearly half-a-billion of that sum. And in a continuation from the 2018 midterms, when liberal dark money groups reported more spending than their conservative counterparts for the first time in history, Democrats are receiving more help from dark money groups than Republicans.&nbsp;Out of all dark money...

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Anna Massoglia

The most comprehensive, nonpartisan money-in-politics resource around. Formerly the Center for Responsive Politics & the National Institute on Money in Politics

‘Dark money’ groups find new ways to hide donors in 2020 election

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