A political action committee funded by George Soros's Democracy Alliance donor network steered six-figure sums to three new super PACs this summer, according to recent filings.
The Strategic Victory Fund, which is affiliated with the Democracy Alliance, a coalition of wealthy donors cofounded by Soros, pushed $312,500 to Millions of Michiganians, $450,000 to Family Friendly Action PAC, and $100,000 to Straight Talk Politics PAC. Thus far, only one of the groups has even a barebones website. The Strategic Victory Fund did not respond to inquiries about its plans for the groups.
The funding is part of a $275 million spending plan mapped out by the Democracy Alliance for the 2020 elections. The network quietly launched the Strategic Victory Fund as part of its attempt to defeat President Donald Trump and other Republicans in November. Soros himself has poured $50 million into the 2020 elections and is the cycle's largest political donor.
Federal Election Commission records show that Millions of Michiganians was launched last September. Though the group has reported no activity since its founding, individuals named in founding documents reveal ties to known liberal activists in the crucial Midwest swing state. The group's listed agent, Lonnie Scott, is the executive director of Progress Michigan, a Lansing-based group that works to "challenge conservative propaganda" in the media. Its treasurer, Joe Soltis, also works for Progress Michigan as a compliance manager. Cementing the ties, the two groups also share the same Lansing address.
Progress Michigan's goal of pushing back against what it deems "conservative propaganda" is an area of focus for the Democracy Alliance ahead of the elections. According to confidential documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the donor collaborative sees right-leaning media, "foreign actors," and "well-organized conservative efforts to attack progressives" through influence campaigns as a problem. "We need to build the capacity to identify, discredit, and disarm these attacks in a systematic way before they take hold," the documents state.
The Family Friendly Action PAC, likewise, contains no online information and reports no activity. Its records list Laura Thibault, the chief finance officer and special programs director at the New Hampshire-based consulting firm Civix Strategy Group, as its treasurer. One of the firm's clients is the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, which carries an almost identical name to the PAC that received funds from the Democracy Alliance. The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy pushes to ensure "livable wages for New Hampshire workers."
The third PAC to receive funds, Straight Talk Politics PAC, lists a San Jose, Calif., post office box as its address. Its treasurer, Wesley Smith, also entered a generic Gmail account bearing the group's name in its statement of organization. The group, however, has a barebones website that says its goal is to "talk about real life political issues affecting real Americans everyday." It contains no information on its members or activities.
None of the individuals tied to the PACs returned requests for comments.
The Democracy Alliance created the Strategic Victory Fund super PAC in March to work alongside its dark money nonprofit arm that carries the same name. Its nonprofit arm funds the Organizing Together 2020 campaign, a large-scale effort to help Democrats take on Trump.
The super PAC has received $8.8 million from deep-pocketed donors and groups this cycle, including large sums from Soros's Democracy PAC, billionaire hedge fund manager James Simons, and the Service Employees International Union.