Democrats Use Super-PACs to Blunt Trump’s Funding Dominance

WASHINGTON — Wealthy Democratic donors are pouring money into outside groups as part of their effort to defeat President Donald Trump in 2020, avoiding contributions to a party apparatus that lost in 2016 and to leading candidates who don’t want their help.

Outside groups aligned with Democrats have pledged to spend more than $300 million attacking Trump, far more than the $67 million raised by the Democratic National Committee. With little primary opposition, Trump and the Republican Party are already in general election mode, free to spend millions in states he’ll need to win a second term.

The Democratic groups are being fueled by seven-figure checks necessary to advertise in battleground states, blunting Trump’s big campaign cash advantage.

Trump’s reelection effort, made up of his own campaign, the Republican National Committee, and two joint fund-raising committees who raise money for each, have raised $308 million this year.

“We have spent more online in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida than Trump,” said Josh Schwerin, senior strategist at Priorities USA Action, which said it had raised $88 million in the first half of 2019. The Democratic super-PAC has spent $7 million on digital ads in battleground states, part of what will be a $100 million ad buy to level the digital playing field.

Two other Democratic super-PACs are spending big on anti-Trump ads. Pacronym announced it would spend $75 million on a digital ad campaign and American Bridge plans to spend $50 million on television, radio and digital ads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which narrowly went for Trump in 2016.

For Our Future, another super-PAC, and a related nonprofit are running year-round voter contact programs in seven swing states. The groups plan on spending $80 million to talk about Trump and other candidates.

The organizations are part of a diverse coalition that includes nonprofits, labor unions, super-PACs and state-level political committees. The groups honed their techniques in the 2018 midterm elections, when they spent $524 million at the federal level — slightly more than Republican super-PACs and nonprofits — helping Democrats take over the House and limit losses in the Senate.

In the Virginia legislative elections earlier this month, the groups helped Democrats take control of both chambers for the first time in 26 years.

Outside organizations have an advantage over the DNC when it comes to fundraising. Because donors can give unlimited amounts to super-PACs and political nonprofits, the groups can raise large sums quickly from a relatively small pool of donors. The DNC can raise a maximum of $35,500 per donor per year to spend on influencing elections.

And the DNC is having trouble doing even that. Bundlers for the party say distrust lingers over its performance in 2016. And some big donors have been put off this year by the anti-corporate rhetoric of progressive candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, both of whom have spurned in-person fundraisers with big contributors.

Democratic Party officials say they are glad to have the outside help. “We’re very happy to see a constellation of Democratic and progressive groups taking on different parts of the elements of the general election campaign,” said DNC spokesman David Bergstein, adding that beating Trump is the common objective. “We feel like it’s going to take everyone.”

Not all candidates are averse to big money support. Supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden have started a super-PAC, Unite the Country, whose organizers say will defend the Democratic front-runner from Republican attacks. The group has yet to spend money, and doesn’t have to disclose how much it’s raised until Jan. 31. Biden, who had opposed having an allied super-PAC, said the financial reinforcement was necessary because he’s simultaneously battling Trump and his Democratic rivals.

Even though the progressive standard-bearers in the Democratic nomination contest are shunning big money donations, members of the Democracy Alliance, a group of progressive donors, haven’t shied away from giving, says its president, Gara LaMarche.

The group doesn’t comment on its members, but it’s included top Democratic donors such as George Soros, Donald Sussman and Tom Steyer.

Steyer has given $10.4 million to Need to Impeach, a super-PAC dedicated to building support for removing Trump from office. He’s spent another $47 million on his own campaign for president.

And Michael R. Bloomberg, who is considering joining the Democratic primary race, will also spend $100 million of his own money on digital ads in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

“In the system that we have, these donors are not going to unilaterally disarm” against the GOP-allied groups, LaMarche said. He said his donors traditionally have given to a wide range of groups, including the DNC, super-PACs such as Priorities USA, and organizations seeking progressive change at the state and community level. “They have to spend because look what’s happening on the other side.”

On the Republican side, allied groups are preparing to defend Trump and go on the attack against the eventual Democratic nominee, but have yet to spend heavily.

Last week, Trump attended an event for America First Action, which he’s anointed as the official super-PAC backing his campaign. That New York event was expected to raise $4 million. Through June, America First raised $8.9 million, according to its most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission. A related nonprofit, America First Policies, has spent an estimated $461,000 on digital ads so far this year.

Federal law bars groups such as Priorities USA from collaborating with the DNC or candidates on the content, timing or targeting of their messaging. But a DNC official said that’s not a hindrance as everyone is focused on defeating Trump, whether the group centers its work on the environment or health care or the economy.

Priorities USA is running ads trying to convince voters that the American economy is not working for everyone, Schwerin says. By contrast, candidates are using their digital ads to raise money. That includes Trump, who’s dominated online spending but concentrated mostly on getting supporters to share emails with the campaign or to donate money to it. But Trump’s campaign has also run ads critical of Biden, currently the front-runner in national polling.

Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said the Democratic nominee will be at a disadvantage if he or she and the DNC continue to be outraised by Trump. Outside groups are good at mudslinging, allowing a candidate to seem above the fray, but have a harder time running an advertising campaign promoting a candidate.

“It’s not going to have the branding for the specific nominee that a party typically carries,” Krumholz said.

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John Harney contributed to this story.

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