In July, Charles and David Koch held their semiannual meeting with billionaire donors in the rightwing stronghold of Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor, a luxury hotel at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
The national media focused much of its reporting on who Charles Koch has said he is not supporting in the 2016 election cycle: Donald Trump.
Though Koch has previously floated the idea of voting for former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, at this most recent meeting, he told the hundreds of donors who each provide at least $100,000 a year to fund the network: “At this point I can’t support either candidate, but I’m certainly not going to support Hillary.”
Koch’s comments were front page news despite the fact that Koch would never vote for Hilary Clinton (unless she was not Hilary Clinton) and he has said disparaging things about Trump.
As of February, the Koch network had already spent well over $400 million, giving it to groups to influence the elections this year in myriad ways.
The names of any groups they funded in 2015 toward 2016 activities will not be known until later this year.
Any money transmitted to groups this year will not be reported until later in 2017, well after the next President and Congress (and Governors, Attorneys General, and state representatives) are sworn in.
And, that would just be the first tier of groups, many of which pass-through cash to other groups and so on.
Well before Trump and Clinton became the major party nominees, the Koch network had already spent more than half of the funds its claimed it was going to spend influencing this election cycle.
So if the Kochs are not directly funding the presidential campaigns or their supporting Super PACs, then to whom are the hundreds of millions they have raised being funneled to?
According to a Washington Post report from the Koch confab at the Broadmoor, “roughly a third” will go to the electioneering and “grassroots” groups in the Koch network “such as Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Partners Action Fund, Concerned Veterans for America, the Libre Initiative and Generation Opportunity.” Those are all Koch-driven groups, designed to target different parts of the electorate.
Koch lieutenants Mark Holden, general counsel and vice president of Koch Industries, and Tim Phillips, president of David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity, both noted that the Koch network is zoned in on the Senate at the Colorado meeting.
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has highlighted the “Koch candidates” in U.S. Senate races along with Congressional and State Governor contests in a previous report. That story identified where some of the Koch groups above, along with KochPAC, have focused their efforts and their cash. (A regularly updated tally of the “Koch candidates” can be accessed here.) However, the Kochs’ interests in the 2016 election cycle do not end there.
CMD also looked at disclosed donations by Koch Industries’ KochPAC in order to identify Team Koch’s candidates in state-level races in 2016. CMD also examined the activities of the Aegis Strategic PAC, a Koch-funded political consultant firm, and news reports and press releases on the activities of a variety of Koch election-focused vehicles, including Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Partners Action Fund, Concerned Women for American, Libre Initiative, Generation Opportunity, and Concerned Veterans for America.
In 2016, instead of attempting to flip a legislature from Democrat to Republican as they did in Arkansas in 2012, the Kochs appear to be spending money to maintain their influence in state legislatures in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Texas. All of the candidates for offices in these states that the Kochs are backing through their KochPAC are republican.
As CMD has reported before, much of this research is focused on disclosed spending through available data, mainly Political Action Committee reports. However, the bulk of the Koch network spending is through dark money vehicles that do not publicly disclose the biggest donors or the recipients of the Koch-fueled largesse.
Spending by the Koch dark money network usually comes in the form of big ad buys on TV and the internet, framed as “issue ads” closer to elections, along with robo-calls, door-knocking with candidate-specific door hangers, rallies, and other operations that are more visible nearer to the elections. In other words, the “Koch Candidates” identified below only present a partial picture of the electioneering the Koch team is currently engaged in.
In addition to the state legislative contests, the Kochs are known to be supporting the following candidates in state Attorney General races, perhaps with a view to aiding continuing efforts to thwart implementation of the Clean Power Plan: Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Rafferty (R-PA), and Patrick Morisey (R-WV).
It is also known that the Kochtopus has contributed to three candidates in state Supreme Court contests in Arkansas and Texas. One of them, Shawn Womack, who ran for a Supreme Court seat in Arkansas, won his contest on March 1, 2016.
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Here are the Koch Candidates in local state races identified so far, based on disclosed donations or other visible support.
State House of Representative Races
Arkansas
- Incumbent Rep. Ron McNair (AR-98) received $2,500 from KochPAC in his bid for reelection.
- Incumbent Rep. Rebecca Petty (AR-94) received $500 from KochPAC in her bid for reelection.
Oklahoma
- Travis Dunlap (OK-10) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Earl Sears (OK-11) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Bobby Cleveland (OK-20) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Charles McCall (OK-22) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Josh Cockroft (OK-27) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Tom Newell (OK-28) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- James Leewright (OK-29) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Chad Caldwell (OK-40) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- John Enns (OK-41) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- John Paul Jordan (OK-43) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Scott Martin (OK-46) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Charles Ortega (OK-52) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Mark McBride (OK-53) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Casey Murdock (OK-61) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- John Michael Montgomery (OK-62) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Weldon Watson (OK-79) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Randy Grau (OK-81) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Jason Nelson (OK-87) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Jon Echols (OK-90) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Elise Hall (OK-100) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
Texas
- Dan Flynn (TX-02) received $2,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Stuart K. Spitzer (TX-04) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Paul Workman (TX-47) received $2,000 from KochPAC to Workman for Texas.
- Ron Simmons (TX-65) received $2,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Doug Miller (TX-73) received $4,000 in contributions from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Jodie A. Laubenberg (TX-89) received $2,000 from KochPAC to her campaign.
- Charlie Geren (TX-99) received $3,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Angie Button (TX-112) received $2,000 from KochPAC to her campaign.
- Cindy Burkett (TX-113) received $2,000 from KochPAC to her campaign.
- Jason Villalba (TX-114) received $2,000 from KochPAC to Texans for Jason Villalba.
- Speaker of the House Rep. Joe Straus (TX-121) received $10,000 from KochPAC to Texans For Joe Straus.
- Wayne Smith (TX-128) received $4,000 in contributions from KochPAC to his campaign.
Wisconsin
- Joel Kitchens (WI-01) is receiving campaign help from Americans for Prosperity’s door-to-door operation. Kitchens also received $500 from KochPAC to Joel Kitchens for Assembly.
- André Jacque (WI-02) received $500 from KochPAC to his Jacque for Assembly.
- Majority Leader Rep. Jim Steineke (WI-05) received $500 from KochPAC to his Steineke for Assembly.
- Gary Tauchen (WI-06) received $500 from KochPAC to Tauchen for Assembly.
- Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Daniel Knodl (WI-24) received $500 from KochPAC to Knodl Assembly 24.
- Mark Born (WI-39) received $500 from KochPAC to Born For Assembly.
- Michael Schraa (WI-53) received $500 from KochPAC to Michael Schraa for Assembly.
- Mike Rohrkaste (WI-55) received $500 from KochPAC to Rohrkaste for Assembly.
- Speaker of the House Rep. Robin Vos (WI-63) received $500 from KochPAC to his Friends & Neighbors of Robin Vos.
- John Spiros (WI-86) received $500 from KochPAC to Spiros for Assembly.
- John Macco (WI-88) received $500 from KochPAC to Friends of John Macco.
- John Nygren (WI-89) received $500 from KochPAC to Taxpayers for Nygren.
State Senate Races
Arkansas
- Incumbent Rep. Eddie Joe Williams (AR-29) received $2,000 from KochPAC in his bid for reelection.
- Incumbent Rep. Eddie Cheatham (AR-26) received $2,000 from KochPAC for his reelection in which he is running unopposed.
Oklahoma
- Bryce Marlatt (OK-27) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Nathan Dahm (OK-33) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Dan Newberry (OK-37) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
- Dave Rader received $1,000 to Friends of Dave Radar 2016 in his Senate race for District 39 of the Oklahoma State Senate.
- Greg Treat (OK-47) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his campaign.
Tennessee
- Scott Williams (R) is receiving support from Americans for Prosperity and its door-to-door campaign in his primary bid to unseat Sen. Doug Overbey (R-02).
Wisconsin
- Tom Tiffany (WI-12) received $1,000 from KochPAC to his Citizens for Tiffany.
- Luther Olson (WI-14) received $1,000 from KochPAC to Olsen for Senate.
- The Koch’s Americans for Prosperity is offering door-to-door support of the GOP challenger to Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris who is running for the open 18th District.
- The Koch’s Americans for Prosperity is offering door-to-door support of the GOP challenger to Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (WI-32).
State Attorney General Races
Missouri
- Aegis Strategic and its PAC are backing Josh Hawley for Attorney General. AegisPAC contributed $19,400 to Hawley for Missouri Election Committee. The April Quarterly filing shows he has some Koch network backing. Randy Kendrick donated $10,000 ($20,000 to date) and Darwin Deason donated $10,000. Both have been linked to the Koch political network. Koch Industries contributed $20,000 to his campaign in May.
Pennsylvania
- John Rafferty received $5,000 from KochPAC to his Friends of John Rafferty.
West Virginia
- Koch PAC contributed $1,000 to incumbent AG Patrick Morrisey’s campaign.
State Supreme Court Races
Arkansas
- Shawn A. Womack received $2,500 from KochPAC in his run for a State Supreme Court seat. Womack won the seat in the March 1, 2016 election.
Texas
You missed Florida and they are heavily invested here. Heavily ! Good grief