Left-wing groups linked to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost third-party libertarian candidates in a last-ditch effort to flip control of the lower chamber, federal spending disclosures reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show.
The spending is primarily targeting three congressional districts: Ohio's ninth, Montana's first, and Alaska's at-large. All three of those races feature libertarian or libertarian-aligned candidates in addition to the Republican and Democratic nominees. Former president Donald Trump won the three districts in 2020, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has since urged allied groups to promote third-party candidates in an attempt to peel off some of his voters, Politico reported.
In the Ohio and Montana districts, the left-wing PAC Voter Protection Project, or VPP, has spent a combined $390,000 in the last week alone on mailers boosting Tom Pruss and Dennis Hayes, the respective libertarian candidates. The Ohio mailer, which was obtained by the Free Beacon, calls Pruss a "principled conservative rooting out corruption in Washington" who will "secure our border," "slash wasteful government spending," and "reduce the federal deficit." House Majority PAC, the spending group aligned with Jeffries and Pelosi, has funneled $275,000 to VPP since 2020, disclosures show.
In Alaska, a different group is playing spoiler: Vote Alaska Before Party, a super PAC formed in 2022 that has received the overwhelming majority of its funding—$6 million—from House Majority PAC. It has used that funding to flood Alaska with ads promoting Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Howe. One digital spot says Howe is "the conservative Alaska candidate for Congress" who will "expand Alaska's oil production and our freedoms." The group put more than $1 million behind such ads last week, disclosures show.
VPP, meanwhile, is targeting a fourth district: Minnesota's second, where Republican Joe Teirab is squaring off against Democratic incumbent Angie Craig. A VPP ad obtained by the Free Beacon portrays Teirab as soft on crime and says Conservative Party candidate Thomas Bowman "refused [the] COVID vaccine" and will "secure the border."
The ad omits the fact that Bowman suspended his campaign earlier this month and endorsed Teirab. Bowman told the Associated Press he'd realized he was a "pawn" for Democrats, citing an AP investigation that found Democratic consultants and donors had paid to secure ballot access for Bowman and other right-wing spoiler candidates.
The tactics reflect the razor-thin nature of the race for a House majority this November. Though election analysts say Republicans are likely to flip the Senate, control of the lower chamber is considered a toss-up that will come down to a handful of races. Expanding the map to Trump-held districts like those in Ohio, Montana, and Alaska, then, could tip the scale in Democrats' favor.
House Majority PAC, which declined to comment, is House Democrats' largest outside group and is controlled by Jeffries, who replaced Pelosi as caucus leader in 2023. Still, Pelosi's fingerprints remain on the PAC—Jeffries elevated top Pelosi aide Mike Smith to lead the group after he rose to power last year.
"By bringing on Mike Smith as President, House Majority PAC will ensure a smooth transition so that Democratic candidates can maximize every opportunity and we can ensure Democrats take back the House in 2024," Jeffries said at the time. "House Democrats are fortunate to have him in this fight."
VPP did not respond to a request for comment. The group has also spent big on ads that portray Republican congressman David Valadao (Calif.) as insufficiently pro-Trump.
Third-party candidates have also proven central to Senate Democrats' path to a 2025 majority. Democrats opted not to run a candidate against Republican incumbent Deb Fischer in deep-red Nebraska, instead putting their financial might behind independent candidate Dan Osborn.