A series of campaign ads that popped up in Michigan this month had an unusual message, especially since the candidate they supported, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had dropped out of the presidential race two months prior. The YouTube ads urged votes for Kennedy, and highlighted his exodus from the Democratic Party—the "party of war" and "censorship."
But the group behind that ad is no supporter of the Kennedy family scion. Instead, the ads come from a super PAC at the center of a shadowy network of Democratic operatives, donors, and campaign lawyers that is boosting Kennedy and two active third-party candidates—Libertarian nominee Chase Oliver and anti-abortion activist Randall Terry, who is the Constitution Party nominee.
Retire Career Politicians has spent $135,000 promoting Kennedy and $170,000 to boost Oliver, according to campaign finance disclosures. Oliver, according to the Democratic ads backing him, is the only candidate who will "abolish income taxes" and "dismantle the nanny state."
It appears to be a brazen ploy to help Vice President Kamala Harris by pulling small-government conservatives away from Donald Trump in Michigan and Wisconsin, two battleground states crucial to Harris’s path to the White House. And it comes after Democrats have sued in various swing states to force left-wing third-party candidates like Jill Stein and Cornel West off the ballot to help Harris.
Retire Career Politicians is not operating alone. The super PAC, which launched on April 18, is working alongside two other super PACs to boost third-party alternatives to Trump.
Voters of These 50 States of America, which formed on Aug. 8, spent $1.4 million this week for ads supporting Oliver in Michigan, according to campaign documents. Civic Truth Action, which formed on Feb. 2, is supporting Oliver in Michigan and Wisconsin with the same ads aired by Retire Career Politicians. Civic Truth Action received $55,000 from Retire Career Politicians on July 18 to air pro-Kennedy advertisements.
Civic Truth Action and Voters of These 50 States of America are funded almost entirely by a nonprofit called Evidence for Impact, formed this year by a partner at the law firm of Marc Elias, a campaign lawyer who joined the Kamala Harris campaign in August. Elias has faced intense scrutiny over the years for using controversial tactics to help Democrats. In 2016, he commissioned the Steele dossier, which falsely accused Trump of colluding with Russia.
Evidence for Impact, whose donors have not been revealed, donated $2 million to Voters of These 50 States of America and $4.3 million to Civic Truth Action, according to campaign filings. It has given $19.2 million to Future Forward PAC, the largest group supporting the Harris campaign.
Civic Truth Action has spent $1,515,000 in support of Oliver. And it has spent $2,470,000 on text messages and direct mail fliers in support of Terry, the anti-abortion activist who is on the ballot in Michigan, Wisconsin, and several other states.
One of the fliers, sent to a Republican voter in Michigan, says Terry will "stand up to liberals to stop the murder of more than 500,000 unborn babies" by ending abortion.
"If you believe life is precious, and no baby deserves to die before they have a chance at life, send a message that LIFE matters most and VOTE RANDALL TERRY," says the flier, provided to the Washington Free Beacon.
While Civic Truth Action and Retire Career Politicians do not share common donors, they were incorporated by the same treasurer, Christopher Koob, a former Democratic National Committee official. Koob has also worked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which supports Democratic Senate candidates, and for the campaign of Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.).
Retire Career Politicians is funded by some of the Democratic Party’s largest donors, the Free Beacon reported. Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark money group that keeps its donors’ identities a secret, has contributed $1.8 million to Retire Career Politicians. The labor unions United Food and Commercial Workers, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and Working America, a group affiliated with the AFL-CIO, contributed $500,000 to Retire Career Politicians in mid-October, records show.
Democratic megadonors Ron Conway and Donald Sussman have given $100,000 each to Retire Career Politicians. Phoebe Gates, the daughter of Bill Gates, and Saikat Chakrabarti, a former chief of staff to "Squad" leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), have also donated to the group.
Retire Career Politicians paid an organization called PAC Services LLC. for the pro-Oliver advertisements on Oct. 7. It has spent millions of dollars supporting Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn, who is running against Republican incumbent Deb Fischer.