Groups affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have interfered in several Republican primaries this election cycle, a tactic that has been in place for several years.
The Senate Majority PAC (SMP), which works to elect and keep Democrats in the Senate, is targeting Republican primaries in at least two states for the 2024 election.
The SMP tends to use other groups to conceal its involvement until the primaries are over. It has primarily targeted battleground states by backing candidates backed by former President Trump, who are seen as likely to lose to Democratic Senate candidates in the general election.
SMP recently used this tactic in the Ohio Republican primary, supporting President Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno, using a group called Jobs and Country PAC.
Groups aligned with Mr. Schumer withdrew $270 million from secret donors in recent years as Mr. Schumer accused him of dark money.
Groups associated with Sen. Chuck Schumer have interfered in several Republican primaries. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
According to a report in Politico, the Job/Country PAC is presumed to be trying to solidify Moreno’s standing among some Republican voters, labeling him “too conservative” and promoting him. The company invested $2.5 million in last-minute efforts.
“Bernie Moreno is too conservative for Ohio,” said the Duty and Honor ad, which began running just before the primary. “In Washington, Moreno will be at the mercy of Donald Trump, which is why Trump endorsed Moreno, calling him “exactly the type of MAGA warrior we need in the United States Senate.”
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The ad continued that Moreno would “lead” President Trump’s policies to “repeal Obamacare” and “institute a national abortion ban.”
Federal Election Commission records show Mandatory/Country PAC received nearly $900,000 last year from Majority Forward, an underground finance nonprofit that shares staff with SMP. Majority Forward also funnels millions of dollars in donations directly to SMP.
Duty & Country does not have to submit a new report showing funding for the first half of 2024 until mid-year, but may continue to be funded exclusively through anonymous donations from Majority Forward is high.
Senate Majority PAC and Majority Forward have been focused on Republican primaries in Ohio and Montana this election cycle. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Ohio voters have a right to know the truth about Bernie Moreno, and the truth is that Moreno is a candidate for him, just as he supported Donald Trump’s policies to ban abortion nationwide and repeal the ACA. They are MAGA extremists who supported them,” SMP spokesperson Hanna Menchov told FOX News Digital. .
Moreno defeated Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan in Tuesday’s Ohio Senate primary and will face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.
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SMP recently used similar tactics in Montana. A shadowy group called Last Best Place PAC entered the Senate race earlier this year and began spending millions of dollars targeting former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy ahead of the state’s Republican primary. .
Last Best Place PAC is also only supported by Majority Forward. The nonprofit contributed $2.14 million to the PAC and was its sole donor, according to federal records filed in late January.
But the PAC effort was criticized by watchdog group Americans for Public Trust ( APT).
Groups associated with Mr. Schumer have previously actively participated in Republican primaries in states such as New Hampshire and Arizona. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“The Last Best Place PAC is secretly laundering millions of dollars from liberals in Washington, D.C., while masquerading as a local operation in Montana,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland previously told Fox News Digital. Ta.
“Spending huge sums of money to influence this election without filing legally required reports violates the letter and spirit of election law. and the fundamental standards of public trust warrant an immediate investigation by the FEC.” “
In addition, SMP intervened in other Republican primaries, including Colorado.
In the 2022 Republican Colorado Senate primary, an unknown group called Democrats Colorado spent millions of dollars to shore up the more conservative state Rep. Ron Hanks, who was running against businessman Joe O’Dea.
The Colorado Democratic Party’s donors were unknown as they poured millions of dollars into the primary. But after the release of the group’s first campaign finance report, the Colorado Sun found that the Senate Majority PAC was the group’s sole source of $4 million.
That tactic backfired. O’Dea won the primary by nearly 10 points and lost in November of that year to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.
SMP has used this tactic in previous election cycles in states such as New Hampshire and Arizona.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.Y.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol on March 6, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
This controversial approach has also been used by Democrats in House races, drawing scorn from Republicans.
Veteran Republican strategist Keith Norton told The Hill in November 2022 that “participating in other parties’ primaries will only deepen the divide.”
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“It makes it harder to compromise,” he says. “Trust will be significantly reduced, making it harder to get deals done. So, while there are immediate benefits, there will be long-term disadvantages.”
Democrats, meanwhile, defend the tactic.
“I like winning, and this was the strategy that gave us multiple wins, and everyone was saying there was going to be a red wave,” Democratic strategist Jonathan Cotto told the magazine at the time. .
“So if Republicans want to continue running extreme candidates, I think it’s the job of Democrats to show them exactly who that person is.”
SMP did not comment on general tactics to interfere in Republican primaries.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
