Larry Ellison Backs Election Deniers, Democrats Outspend GOP In House Races

Today we look at the battle for the House, a billionaire backing election deniers, a prominent donor to Tulsi Gabbard’s PAC and the campaign for a QAnon-connected candidate.

Democrats Are Outspending Republicans 2-To-1 To Hold Onto House

“Democratic candidates are pouring their own campaign cash into House races—outspending the other party by more than twofold—but GOP issue groups are making up for the lag in this historically expensive election cycle, new data shows,” reports Sara Dorn:

Vying to maintain control of the House, Democratic candidates have spent or reserved more than $167 million on ads this election cycle, more than doubling Republican candidates’ $72 million, according to data reported Wednesday by the political ad tracking firm AdImpact Politics.

Democratic issue groups and candidates together are on track to spend a total of $409 million before Election Day, $57 million more than Republican groups and candidates, adding up to $761 million in ad spending for candidates from both parties and their supporters.

Both parties are scheduled to spend nearly half of those totals in the final stretch before Election Day—$185 million for Democrats and $168 million on the Republican side over the next four weeks.

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Tech Billionaire Larry Ellison’s Record Political Giving Funds Election Deniers In Midterms

“Oracle’s cofounder is bankrolling a super PAC that is spending millions to support four prominent Senate candidates who have cast doubt on the 2020 presidential election results,” reports Matt Durot:

The seventh-richest person in the world, worth nearly $86 billion, Larry Ellison hasn’t directly funded any November midterm candidates, according to Federal Election Commission records, which makes some sense given the $2,900 limit on how much any individual can give directly to a campaign. Instead, Ellison is putting his dough into a super PAC, an entity that can accept unlimited sums. So far, Ellison has reported giving $20 million to Opportunity Matters, accounting for 78% of all the money the Tim Scott (R-South Carolina)-aligned super PAC has raised this cycle. It’s the most Ellison has ever given to any political action committee. It’s also the most he’s spent during any federal election cycle, up from a previous high of $7.3 million in 2020, which included $5 million to Opportunity Matters. Forbes tried to reach Ellison for comment but didn’t get a response.

Flush with Ellison’s cash, the PAC has spent $9.9 million supporting 19 Republican candidates for the House and Senate, as well as $50,000 attacking one of their opponents: Democratic Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock. Of the $9.9 million, $6.1 million went toward four candidates running in a few of the Senate’s closest races, each of whom appear to have cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Biden’s election.

Continuing Irresolutions

Updates on Checks & Imbalances’ previous reporting

An apologist for Vladimir Putin has continued to support former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-Hawaii) PAC. In March, Sharon Tennison contributed another $2,000 to Our Freedom, Our Future, the PAC that grew out of Gabbard’s presidential campaign. Tennison founded, and until recently led, the Center for Citizen Initiatives, a nonprofit that aims to foster cooperation between the U.S. and Russia and has repeatedly endorsed Russia’s president.

In 2021, Tennison was the largest individual donor to Our Freedom, Our Future. She has funneled at least $17,000 to Gabbard’s committees and legal-expense fund.

Gabbard quit the Democratic party on Tuesday, saying it “is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.”

*****

On Thursday, former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Kan.) informed the FEC that he was terminating his campaign. In March, Fortenberry was convicted of concealing information and making false statements to the FBI. He resigned from Congress a week later, and started a new job four days after that.

Suspected QAnon Author Shutters Congressional Campaign

Ron Watkins, the man widely suspected of whipping up the QAnon conspiracy theory, informed the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday that he wanted to terminate his congressional campaign.

Watkins has said he is not the man behind QAnon. He ran as a Republican from Arizona and lost in the primary in August. His committee remained active, although with no cash on hand as of Sept 30.

In addition to announcing its intent to shutting down on Tuesday, the campaign also amended its last three financial disclosures. Watkins signed all four of yesterday’s submissions as the campaign treasurer, even though his campaign’s latest statement of organization lists someone else in that role.

From the start, his campaign has been a sloppy operation. In its one year of existence, it received inquiries from the FEC about registering incorrectly, failing to originally disclose 40% of it contributions one quarter and providing incomplete information about its donors. The campaign revised its registration 10 times.

It also accumulated a small bitcoin portfolio, valued at $1,400. Watkins, who did not respond to a request for comment, bought out his campaign’s cryptocurrency holdings on August 1, one day before he finished last of the seven candidates vying for the GOP nomination in Arizona’s 2nd District.Watkins also forgave half of a $95,000 loan he made to his campaign.