Democrats on track to lose their dark money ‘security blanket’
This is performative politics again.
In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
For the first time in nearly a decade, wealthy anonymous donors are shaping up to provide Republican-aligned committees with more support than their Democratic counterparts, the Washington Examiner has found.
Between December 2024 and December 2025, approximately $280 million in untraceable funds flooded federal political committees, campaign finance records show. Roughly $150 million of that sum came from organizations aligned with the Republican Party. Of the remainder, $53 million came from industry groups and centrist committees, while just $75 million was contributed by organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. If current trends persist, Republicans would receive more support from anonymous donors for the first time since 2018.
While this trend holding would represent a departure from recent norms, Republican-aligned groups dominated dark money spending in the cycles immediately following Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court decision that created dark money as we know it.
Most of the dark money that entered federal elections in the year following the 2024 presidential election came from just a handful of deep-pocketed groups. All told, the 10 largest anonymously funded donor groups accounted for more than 60% of the dark money that has entered federal elections so far this cycle.
One Nation, for instance, cut a $35.3 million check to the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. American Prosperity Alliance, a nonprofit organization previously linked to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), poured $30.7 million into a collection of conservative political committees. AIPAC’s advocacy arm, meanwhile, pumped $30 million into its allied United Democracy Project. Top liberal committees such as Majority Forward and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, meanwhile, donated just $19.2 million and $6.6 million, respectively, into political committees.
Perennial boogeymen decried by the Left and Right alike appear in the data, too.
The North Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, previously united by their shared relationship with Arabella Advisors and now joined by their ties to Sunflower Services, have long been two of the premier vehicles for dark money on the Left. …
This is performative politics again.
In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
For the first time in nearly a decade, wealthy anonymous donors are shaping up to provide Republican-aligned committees with more support than their Democratic counterparts, the Washington Examiner has found.
Between December 2024 and December 2025, approximately $280 million in untraceable funds flooded federal political committees, campaign finance records show. Roughly $150 million of that sum came from organizations aligned with the Republican Party. Of the remainder, $53 million came from industry groups and centrist committees, while just $75 million was contributed by organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. If current trends persist, Republicans would receive more support from anonymous donors for the first time since 2018.
While this trend holding would represent a departure from recent norms, Republican-aligned groups dominated dark money spending in the cycles immediately following Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court decision that created dark money as we know it.
Most of the dark money that entered federal elections in the year following the 2024 presidential election came from just a handful of deep-pocketed groups. All told, the 10 largest anonymously funded donor groups accounted for more than 60% of the dark money that has entered federal elections so far this cycle.
One Nation, for instance, cut a $35.3 million check to the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. American Prosperity Alliance, a nonprofit organization previously linked to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), poured $30.7 million into a collection of conservative political committees. AIPAC’s advocacy arm, meanwhile, pumped $30 million into its allied United Democracy Project. Top liberal committees such as Majority Forward and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, meanwhile, donated just $19.2 million and $6.6 million, respectively, into political committees.
Perennial boogeymen decried by the Left and Right alike appear in the data, too.
The North Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, previously united by their shared relationship with Arabella Advisors and now joined by their ties to Sunflower Services, have long been two of the premier vehicles for dark money on the Left. …
Democrats on track to lose their dark money ‘security blanket’
This is performative politics again.
In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
For the first time in nearly a decade, wealthy anonymous donors are shaping up to provide Republican-aligned committees with more support than their Democratic counterparts, the Washington Examiner has found.
Between December 2024 and December 2025, approximately $280 million in untraceable funds flooded federal political committees, campaign finance records show. Roughly $150 million of that sum came from organizations aligned with the Republican Party. Of the remainder, $53 million came from industry groups and centrist committees, while just $75 million was contributed by organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. If current trends persist, Republicans would receive more support from anonymous donors for the first time since 2018.
While this trend holding would represent a departure from recent norms, Republican-aligned groups dominated dark money spending in the cycles immediately following Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court decision that created dark money as we know it.
Most of the dark money that entered federal elections in the year following the 2024 presidential election came from just a handful of deep-pocketed groups. All told, the 10 largest anonymously funded donor groups accounted for more than 60% of the dark money that has entered federal elections so far this cycle.
One Nation, for instance, cut a $35.3 million check to the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. American Prosperity Alliance, a nonprofit organization previously linked to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), poured $30.7 million into a collection of conservative political committees. AIPAC’s advocacy arm, meanwhile, pumped $30 million into its allied United Democracy Project. Top liberal committees such as Majority Forward and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, meanwhile, donated just $19.2 million and $6.6 million, respectively, into political committees.
Perennial boogeymen decried by the Left and Right alike appear in the data, too.
The North Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, previously united by their shared relationship with Arabella Advisors and now joined by their ties to Sunflower Services, have long been two of the premier vehicles for dark money on the Left. …
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