We know that out-of-state conservative groups spent $5.7 million to help Matt Rosendale win the primary.
That’s $8 per registered voter.
Sounds like a lot, but Tester had more money than Rosendale before the primary, and he has more money now.
Tester does have a big problem, though – he doesn’t have enough individual donors here in Montana to push him over the top.
He’s known this for some time, and we learned it in November, when it was reported that 81% of Tester’s donations were coming from out-of-state.
What’s especially sad is that over 27% of his donations have come from California, New York, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
If Maryland Matt is such a bad guy…why is Tester taking money from other Maryland residents and PACs?
In fact, we learned that just 13,100 individual donations came from Montanans, with most being “less than $100 each.”
Even if each of them was $100, that’d only give Tester a little over $1.3 million.
Nope, ain’t gonna cut it.
And that’s why he’s raised over $12 million so far and has around $6 million left in the bank.
Last fall we learned that 31% of Tester’s money came from PACs. Since he’s raised a lot more since then, I think that percentage has only increased.
Today we’ll list out all the $5,000-and-greater PAC donations that Tester has taken so far.
You can see the full list of Tester’s PAC money on the FEC website.
There are at least a hundred results.
The largest amounts, and the PACs that stood out to me, are listed below:
- $25,000 from Discover Financial Services PAC, a D.C.-based credit card PAC that typically gives 68% of donations to Republicans.
- $25,000 from Accenture, Inc. PAC, an Ireland-based consulting company PAC that typically gives 55% of donations to Republicans.
- $10,000 from VISA PAC
- $10,000 from CISCO Systems PAC, a Sacramento-based telecom PAC that typically gives 52% of donations to Republicans.
- $10,000 from Washington Women for Choice, a Seattle-based abortion PAC that gives 100% of donations to Democrats.
- $10,000 from American Bankers Association PAC
- $10,000 from PAC for a Level Playing Field, Elizabeth Warren’s Foxboro-based PAC that gives 96% of donations to Democrats.
- $10,000 from Moving America Forward
- $5,000 from Verizon Communications PAC
- $5,000 from United Steelworkers PAC
- $5,000 from NEA Fund for Children and Public Education PAC
- $5,000 from Sun PAC, a Florida-based solar energy PAC that gives 69% of donations to Democrats.
- $5,000 from Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball PAC
- $5,000 from Humana PAC, a D.C.-based health insurance PAC that typically gives 52% of donations to Republicans.
- $5,000 from Getting Stuff Done PAC
- $5,000 from Fearless for the People PAC
- $5,000 from Facebook PAC
- $5,000 from Deloitte PAC
- $5,000 from Cox Enterprises PAC, a D.C.-based telecom PAC that typically gives 51% of donations to Republicans.
- $5,000 from Common Sense Colorado
- $5,000 from American Hospital Association PAC
- $5,000 from American Crystal Sugar Company PAC
- $5,000 from Microsoft PAC
- $5,000 from International Paper PAC
- $5,000 from Genentech PAC, a Switzerland-based biotech PAC that typically gives 55% of donations to Republicans.
- $5,000 from Cozen O’Connor PAC, a Philadelphia-based PAC that typically gives 71% of donations to Democrats.
- $5,000 from Zuffa PAC, a Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship PAC that typically gives 54% of donations to Republicans.
- $5,000 from Oceans PAC
- $5,000 from National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts PAC
- $5,000 from Missourians for Accountability and Change
- $5,000 from Lobo PAC, a New Mexico-based financial services PAC that gives 100% of donations to Democrats.
- $5,000 from Independent Pharmacy Cooperative PAC
- $5,000 from Comcast PAC
- $5,000 from Prudential Financial PAC
- $5,000 from The Internet and Television Association PAC
- $5,000 from Hawaii PAC
- $5,000 from Narragansett Bay PAC
- $5,000 from JPMorgan Chase & Co. PAC
- $5,000 from Goldman Sachs Group PAC
- $5,000 from Amalgamated Bank PAC
- $5,000 from S&P Global PAC
- $5,000 from Price Waterhouse Coopers PAC
- $5,000 from CoreCivic PAC
- $5,000 from End Citizens United
Conclusion
I put that End Citizens United donation last, because I consider it such a joke.
Before that, we saw Tester take from 5 huge banks and financial services companies, as well as the private prison group that is supposedly so bad that Steve Bullock won’t take $30 million from them to prop up his disastrous budget cuts.
Isn’t CoreCivic also the company that is detaining illegal immigrants and their families?
That’s a huge issue for Dems, but I guess it’s not an issue for Tester. Twenty days ago, his office refused to respond to questions about this donation (Open Secrets lists just one $2,500 donation, but the FEC actually lists two $2,500 donations, both coming April 19, 2017…seven months before the company became such an issue with a special session looming).
Boy…what a snafu.
And more politics as usual.
Anyways, what can these PAC donations tell us?
Well, we know that the top 10 PACs giving to Tester are from the following industries:
- Credit Cards
- Telecom
- Financial Services
- Bankers
- Abortionists
- Unions
- Social Media
- Baseball
- Health Insurance
- Private Prisons
I have to shake my head at Tester’s largest PAC donation, $25,000 from a credit card company.
Montana is doing a lot better than the rest of the country when it comes to credit card debt.
We rank #36 for states with the most credit card debt, with the average cardholder having $5,071.
I view credit cards as a tool of the devil, with the paying of interest being especially evil. Credit cards typically have interest rates that’d surely make Jesus throw up if saw them today.
But for Jon Tester, it’s not an issue. He’ll take $25,000 from Discover credit card company…the largest amount he’s taken from any PAC. Then he’ll turn around and take another $10,000 from Visa.
Democrats are fine with this. They’ll shout all day for all to hear about various PACs that Republicans are taking from, but rarely will they dig into their own candidates’ finances.
When they do, it’s a joke…like the silly, 460-word post that East-Coaster Bjorn Beer put up on Montana Post this week. They don’t go into the money too much, but at the end of it they do ask you for money.
They sure as shit don’t mention Tester’s CoreCivic private prison donation.
I also find it interesting that Tester’s taking from a company – Facebook – that actually stood by and let the Russians meddle in our elections.
Well, that’s the Dem narrative. I guess if they give you $5,000 it’s alright, though.
The $5,000 Tester took from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s PAC might make a fun TV ad.
I mean…who cares about this sport? I don’t know why they want to give Tester money (what’s he going to do for them?), but it doesn’t bother me as much as lawyers and healthcare companies giving money to Tester.
Dems might want to play this one up. It could be fun. And it could remind voters of Gianforte and his assault. Wow, sounds like a win-win!
Mostly, I’ll stick with my earlier assessment:
Whether Tester or Rosendale wins in November, Montanans will lose for the next six years.
Neither of these guys are leaders. They are good at following…mostly the money.
They’ll follow it anywhere, and take from just about anyone.
Principles don’t matter, nor do you and your family.
Winning does, and these guys will pay any price to get that win.
Notes
Beer, Bjorn. “Follow the Money in the Senate Race.” The Montana Post. 23 July 2018. https://themontanapost.com/2018/07/23/follow-the-money-in-the-senate-race/
“CoreCivic Inc.” Open Secrets. 16 July 2018. https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cycle=2018&cmte=C00366468
Dennison, Mike. “At least 81 percent of Sen. Tester’s campaign money from outside MT.” KTVQ. 24 November 2017. http://www.ktvq.com/story/36918910/at-least-81-percent-of-sen-testers-campaign-money-from-outside-mt
Kotch, Alex. “Democrats Split on Accepting Private-Prison Donations.” TYT Network. 5 July 2018. https://tytnetwork.com/2018/07/05/democrats-split-on-accepting-private-prison-donations/
Lynn, Leslie. “A State-By-State Look at Credit Card Debt in America.” National Debt Relief. 19 June 2017. https://www.nationaldebtrelief.com/state-state-look-credit-card-debt-america/
Nilsen, Ella. “Conservative groups poured millions into Montana’s Senate primary.” Vox. 6 June 2018. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/4/17396914/conservative-groups-millions-montana-senate-primary-jon-tester-matt-rosendale-russ-fagg
“Other Committee Contributions, Receipts.” Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 25 July 2018. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&cycle=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00412304&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=07%2F25%2F2018&line_number=F3-11C
Various PAC summary pages. Open Secrets. Retrieved 25 July 2018. https://www.opensecrets.org/