Who Funded Pa. House Democrats in 2024?
“Money in politics” is a recurring target of the Left. And they feign disdain for “wealthy donors” contributing to candidates for office. But only if those candidates are Republicans.
It turns out the Left loves its own millionaires and billionaires.
This was on full display in the 2024 elections for Pennsylvania state House, where Democrats defended their slim, 102-101 majority. Democrat candidates benefitted from tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from wealthy donors— nearly all of whom don’t even live in Pennsylvania.
In eight of the most competitive state House seats—four in which Republican incumbents were running and four in which Democrat incumbents were running—Democrats spent more than $24 million, compared with Republicans’ $6 million.
In one of these races alone—the heavily Republican 72nd House District in Cambria County, where Democrat Frank Burns won re-election only by pretending to be pro-Trump—the Left spent more than $4 million. This amount for a state House race would have been unheard of just a few years ago.
Where did Democrats get these millions? They’d like you to believe it came from everyday, grassroots Pennsylvanians.
The reality is much different.
Instead, in the last three election cycles, the biggest single donor to the Pennsylvania House Democrat Campaign Committee (HDCC)—which doles out money to Democrat state House candidates—has been a federal super PAC called PAC for America’s Future.
Since its founding, PAC for America’s Future has raised nearly $60 million, and it’s funneled more than $18 million to Pennsylvania, including more than $14 million to HDCC.
And since 2020 (the first year the PAC for America’s Future began filing campaign finance reports with the Pennsylvania Department of State), more than 97% of the PAC’s money has come from outside of Pennsylvania. More specifically, from the same kind of wealthy donors that the Left pretends to reject.
For example:
- $8 million came from Barry Munger of NY/CT, the son of the former Berkshire Hathaway vice chair
- $2 million came from Deborah Simon (IN), the daughter of billionaire shopping mall magnet Melvin Simon
- $2 million came from Jonathan Soros (NY), the son of liberal billionaire George Soros
- $1 million came from Gideon Friedman (NY), the CEO of Beachwold Residential
- $1 million was from David Karp (NY), the former CEO of Tumblr
- $1 million came from Lynn Schusterman (OK), billionaire and wife of the late oil and gas founder Charles Schusterman
- $800,000 came from Reid Hoffman (WA), the billionaire activist and founder of LinkedIn
- $200,000 came from Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, the famous Hollywood director and his wife
Mainstream media often targets Republican donors for their giving, but rarely if ever do you see the same scrutiny of the Left’s web of donors who live far from Pennsylvania but are spending big to influence our elections.