Priorities USA Action, a major Democratic super PAC, donated over $268,000 to Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam's campaign in October, public records show.
Priorities, which raised nearly $200 million for Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 presidential campaign, has been focusing its efforts on Virginia's gubernatorial race, partnering with three other progressive special interest groups to support Northam.
The super PAC posted on Facebook in mid-September that it was partnering with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, NextGen America, and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters on a coordinated digital campaign to defeat Northam's Republican opponent, Ed Gillespie.
New campaign finance reports show that Northam received two donations from Priorities in October totaling $268,464. His campaign also previously received a donation of $21,506 from Priorities at the end of September, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project.
Priorities' senior adviser, Brian Fallon, who served as Clinton's national press secretary in 2016, compared Gillespie's campaign to white supremacists last Friday. He tweeted out an image of white supremacists marching with tiki torches in Charlottesville, Va. with the caption, "Live look at Ed Gillespie campaign strategy meeting."
Live look at Ed Gillespie campaign strategy meeting: pic.twitter.com/izcs57hZUv
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 27, 2017
The three groups that partnered with Priorities have also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Northam's campaign, totaling more than $2 million in contributions for October alone. The political action committee of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia donated over $875,000; NextGen America donated over $265,000; and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters donated nearly $950,000.
The Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, a New York-based gun-control group founded in part by multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg, also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Northam's campaign. The campaign received $497,687 in campaign contributions through Sept. 30 and $649,131 in October alone.
A group backed by former President Barack Obama and chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder has also poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Northam's campaign. The National Democratic Redistricting Foundation—a foundation associated with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a Washington, D.C.-based organization focused on redistricting efforts—has put at least $750,000 into its effort to elect Northam.