A new political action committee launched by liberal billionaire George Soros has given $350,000 to Planned Parenthood Virginia, its largest outside contribution ever, ahead of the state's November elections, records show.
The Democracy PAC, Soros's PAC that was created earlier this year for the 2020 election cycle, sent a $350,000 donation to Planned Parenthood Virginia's committee in September, according to filings on the Virginia Public Access Project's website.The donation appears to be the the largest outside contribution ever received by the committee. A majority of its funds previously came from its action fund and the super PAC Planned Parenthood Votes.
Soros's money enters Virginia as outside liberal donors and groups are showering the state with cash as they attempt to regain control of both houses of the state legislature this November. Everytown for Gun Safety, one of the nation's largest gun control groups, recently announced the launch of a $550,000 digital ad campaign targeting 15 Republican-held House and Senate districts in the state, Axios reported.
Republicans in the state currently hold a slim one-seat majority in its 40-member Senate and a three-seat advantage in its 100-member House of Delegates. The battle for control of the Virginia legislature is widely considered to be a tossup, the Wall Street Journal notes.
Additionally, if Democrats were to win back control of the legislature, Governor Ralph Northam's recent gun control proposals would be back on the table and the party would be in charge leading up to redistricting efforts following the 2020 census, according to the Journal.
The Democracy PAC was quietly established in January by Soros's spokesperson, Michael Vachon, who acts as the group's treasurer. An individual familiar with the PAC told Politico in August that it would be used for the 2020 election cycle to fund other liberal groups. "He has, unlike Tom Steyer or [Michael] Bloomberg, funded things like Senate Majority PAC and Priorities USA and EMILY's List and Planned Parenthood and expects to continue to do so."
The donation to Planned Parenthood Virginia appears to be one of the first from the Democracy PAC. Semi-annual filings from the committee showed that Soros deposited $5.1 million as of June 30. Its only expenditures during the first half of the year were $6,620.17 to the Perkins Coie law firm and $600 to NGP Van, a voter database and consulting company.
Soros also poured nearly $1 million into Virginia earlier this year to back far-left prosecutor candidates. Both candidates that the financier backed won their Democratic primaries and are virtually guaranteed victory in the heavily liberal areas of Northern Virginia during the general election.
Michael Vachon, the Soros spokesperson and treasurer of the Democracy PAC, did not respond to a request for comment on the donation to Planned Parenthood ahead of the elections.