The darkish cash group No Labels, which is getting ready to run a third-party presidential ticket, says it has “created a rising nationwide motion of commonsense Individuals.” Whereas the group has been making its pitch, one among its PACs has been earmarking donations for rich executives and billionaire traders.
The No Labels Downside Solvers PAC has been used this 12 months to route tons of of hundreds of {dollars} in marketing campaign donations to members of Congress, in response to Federal Election Fee information. Its high recipients embody Home Downside Solvers Co-Chair Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), with virtually $246,000; Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), with virtually $132,000; and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), with $30,000.
The PAC operates as a conduit that enables particular person donors to earmark funds to political campaigns. The donations are given by the PAC, however as a result of they’re earmarked from particular person donors the PAC doesn’t need to abide by contribution limits and might funnel limitless quantities of cash to campaigns.
Round half of the at the very least 115 particular person donors who gave via the No Labels Downside Solvers PAC this 12 months reported their occupation as CEO, investor, government, or related titles, in response to Sludge’s overview of FEC information. Dozens extra gave their occupation as retired.
Quite a few non-public fairness executives gave via the No Labels PAC because the group is pursuing its multistate poll entry effort. Chris Gaffney, managing director of Nice Hill Companions, went via No Labels to contribute the per-cycle most of $6,600 to every of Fitzpatrick and Gonzalez, as did Roger Evans of Greylock Companions. John Connaughton, co-managing accomplice of Bain Capital, gave the utmost donation to Fitzpatrick by way of the PAC.
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Different executives who’ve earmarked donations via No Labels this 12 months embody the next: Robert Stavis, accomplice at enterprise capital and funding agency Bessemer Enterprise Companions; Ron Shaich, CEO and managing accomplice of funding agency Act III Holdings; and Matthew Kaplan, chair of the Almanac actual property enterprise at funding agency Neuberger Berman.
Billionaire investor Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital, reportedly a fundraiser host for No Labels, together with his partner Nancy gave $5,800 to Gonzales via the PAC in early April. Uncommon amongst No Labels’ largely-secretive donors, Marks has written a technique memo concerning the position that the Home Downside Solvers performed in 2021 in forcing a vote first on the bipartisan infrastructure framework, supported by many enterprise lobbying teams. The moderates’ efforts delayed votes on the bigger social spending and environmental packages included within the Construct Again Higher Act, which large enterprise teams just like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce battled with what the Washington Publish known as a “large lobbying blitz.”
A number of fossil gasoline business executives have opted to make donations via the Downside Solvers PAC this 12 months. No Labels board member Andy Bursky, chairman of personal fairness and holding firm Atlas Holdings whose belongings embody coal-fired energy crops, earmarked a $3,300 donation to Gonzalez in February. In 2017, Gonzalez based the Congressional Oil & Gasoline Caucus, and final cycle benefited from advert spending by a shadowy pop-up group that was funded by the American Petroleum Institute. Kane Weiner, president of oil and fuel exploration firm Texas Crude Power based mostly in Houston, gave $6,600 to Gonzalez and topped up a donation to Fitzpatrick, reaching $3,900 this cycle. Jack Blanton, chair of oil and fuel firm Nicklos Drilling, donated $500 to Gonzales via the PAC.
The Issues Solvers’ Democratic co-chair, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, obtained $6,200 in earmarked contributions via the PAC within the second quarter from a trio of donors: Steven Halstedt, managing director of enterprise capital agency Centennial Ventures; Timothy Sloan, senior advisor at funding supervisor Fortress; and Weiner.
This month, No Labels held a New Hampshire occasion with honorary co-chair Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican, the primary in a collection of city halls that additionally promote what the group calls its “insurance coverage coverage” presidential ticket, whose nominees should not but determined.
Just lately, No Labels has confronted arguments from former Democratic lawmakers together with Richard Gephardt, in addition to the centrist group Third Means and the progressive group MoveOn, that its third-party presidential ticket would seemingly siphon votes in key states from the Biden re-election marketing campaign and assist usher in one other Trump victory within the Electoral Faculty. The Downside Solvers’ co-chair Gottheimer issued a assertion opposing the plan, and different caucus members have been extra outspoken of their criticism, equivalent to Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who mentioned it was “losing time, power, and cash on a weird effort,” amongst different issues. No Labels responds that its polling has discovered its third-party ticket would draw equally from Democrats and Republicans, although its polling information shared with the Washington Publish earlier this 12 months confirmed Biden would lose a better share of the vote than would Trump.
A number of giant Republican donors have used the No Labels PAC to steer donations this 12 months: Janet Duchossois of Chicago, partner of investor Craig Duchossois, gave $6,600 to Fitzpatrick via it in early Might. Actual property mogul and Republican bundler Woody Hunt of El Paso used it to offer the identical quantity to Fitzpatrick on June 30. Michigan Republican donor Edward C. Levy, CEO and co-owner of a mining and slag firm, chipped within the most donation to Fitzpatrick as effectively.
Lots of the donors who’ve earmarked donations via No Labels’ PAC this 12 months additionally donated in August of final 12 months to an group that No Labels set as much as assist its presidential plan’s drive for poll entry in all 50 states. James Stanard of Sarasota, Florida, the previous chairman and CEO of insurance coverage firm RenaissanceRe, donated $6,600 to Gonzalez in February after giving to the No Labels presidential plan. Amy and Drew McKnight, who’s a co-CEO at funding supervisor Fortress, donated $13,200 to Fitzpatrick in Might. Andrew Tisch, co-chair of conglomerate Loews Company and a No Labels board member, gave $1,000 to Fitzpatrick the identical month. William Berkley of Key Largo, Florida, founding father of insurance coverage firm W. R. Berkley, gave the $6,600 most to Fitzpatrick and Gonzales in Might and June.
The PAC’s earmarked donations to Arizona Impartial Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s re-election marketing campaign, made on March 6 and totaling $5,800, have been from Raymond Chambers of Morristown, N.J., proprietor of funding agency Wesray Social Investments.
The PAC additionally made donations instantly from its personal account totaling $10,000 every to the campaigns of Manchin and Sinema within the first quarter of this 12 months, and it gave $5,000 to Sinema’s Getting Stuff Executed management PAC on the ultimate day of the second quarter, in response to FEC information. The PAC gave $5,000 to the re-election bid of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in March and the identical quantity to Sen. Todd Younger (R-Ind.) in June.
Since 2015, No Labels has sprouted up effectively over a dozen tremendous PACs, political motion committees, and joint fundraising committees to make donations to favored candidates and place exterior spending of their main and normal races.
No Labels’ two nonprofit arms, which have raised tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in income beginning in 2009, don’t disclose details about their donors, although inner paperwork seen in 2018 by The Each day Beast revealed No Labels counts many finance executives and Republican megadonors as common contributors.
The Downside Solvers PAC, whose treasurer is No Labels board member Jerry Howe, is anticipated to quickly file its first FEC disclosure of the 12 months. Howe’s day job is as government vice chairman of Leidos, which introduced within the majority of its $13.7 billion in 2021 income from protection contracts.
Correction: this publish initially listed Ron Shaich’s employer as debt firm ACT Holdings, when the truth is it’s Act III Holdings, whose portfolio contains restaurant firm Cava and know-how firms.
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