Democrats have long criticized “dark money” in American politics, raising concerns over billionaires anonymously exerting sizable influence over elections.
Federal records, however, show groups that don’t disclose their donors are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in far greater numbers than former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Harris, who has a massive cash advantage ahead of Election Day, is being boosted eight times more by dark money groups than Trump is, Federal Election Commission filings show. Organizations in this category include dozens of super PACs responsible for almost 90% of spending this election cycle on independent expenditures supporting targeting Trump or Harris, according to an analysis by Sludge, a website tracking money in politics.
2024 ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS ON THE TRUMP-HARRIS PRESIDENTIAL RACE
“The public has a right to know who is trying to influence their votes and who is trying to curry favor with political candidates through large contributions to outside groups like super PACs and dark money groups,” said Michael Beckel, the research director for a transparency watchdog group called Issue One. “Wealthy special interests can use dark money contributions to help ingratiate themselves with their preferred candidate without any public scrutiny.”
Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to boost candidates, often through disbursements on advertising. Following a flurry of Supreme Court decisions over the last several decades, super PACs have become a staple in American politics, breaking new barriers each election cycle to back candidates with hundreds of millions of dollars from their, in part, anonymous-backed war chests.
That’s because super PACs often receive large transfers from nonprofit organizations that are affiliated with them and registered under 501(c)(4), a section of the IRS code that allows “social welfare” groups to receive tax-exempt status and not disclose their donors. In 2024, the biggest super PAC in politics is Future Forward, which is supporting Harris through ads, is bankrolled by the ultra-wealthy, and has a tax-exempt arm registered in Washington, D.C.
Future Forward’s nonprofit arm has shuffled over $130 million since 2018 to its super PAC affiliate, which counts some of its own donors as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, philanthropist George Soros, and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. However, funding that goes to Future Forward’s nonprofit group is difficult, and often impossible, to fully trace due to a lack of federal laws requiring disclosure.
That reality took a turn in one respect this week upon the New York Times reporting that Bill Gates privately steered $50 million to Future Forward’s nonprofit arm. The leaked cash infusion to help Harris, the outlet said, “will never appear on any public filing” and “was meant to stay under wraps.”
“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving healthcare, reducing poverty, and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world,” Gates told the outlet. “I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.”
Harris, who is polling neck-and-neck with Trump, is also being boosted heavily by the League of Conservation Voters environmental group, the left-wing American Bridge 21st Century PAC, and other dark money groups, filings show.
She has said dark money is “manipulating the election process,” declaring previously, “Trump has megadonors, huge corporations, and dark-money PACs willing to cut blank checks to buy him four more years in power. We have you.”
As far as Trump, the former president is being supported by super PACs that have raised around $23.2 million from dark money groups, Sludge found.
Those include Building America’s Future, Restoration of America, and others, the outlet said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump, separately, is being boosted by a super PAC launched by X owner Elon Musk that faced scrutiny this week from the Justice Department over its $1 million giveaway to registered voters. Musk said random voters who signed his super PAC’s petition supporting the U.S. Constitution would be awarded the money.
The Harris and Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
