Why It Matters

Elect Democratic Women has spent over one million dollars on House elections this cycle, mainly supporting Democratic women and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars against Republican Mike Beltran, who is running against Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) in Florida's 14th Congressional District.

The group describes itself as a congressional member-led PAC formed to elect more pro-choice Democratic women to Congress. The Federal Election Commission classifies Elect Democratic Women as a qualified PAC, rather than a super PAC. Unlike an independent expenditure-only committee, it can make both direct contributions to candidates and committees, subject to federal contribution limits, and independent expenditures that cannot be coordinated with candidates or their campaigns, similar to Super PACs.

Where the Money Went

The greatest amount of money was spent on Marni von Wilpert, with about $390,000 being spent to support her campaign for the U.S. House. On the opposite side, the committee allocated approximately $349,300 against Mike Beltran in Florida's 14th District, which made him the biggest opposition target noted in the available filings.

Denise Powell received approximately $213,768 in support spending. In Michigan, the committee spent approximately $124,891 supporting Bridget Brink while directing approximately the same amount toward opposing Matthew Maasdam. Kaela Berg received approximately $99,999 in support, while Shannon Bird received approximately $97,844.

Who Funds It

Elect Democratic Women receives funding from individuals and other political committees representing a variety of industries and interests, including Molina Healthcare Inc. PAC, Aflac PAC, America’s Credit Unions PAC, the American Academy of Dermatology Association Political Action Committee, the American Association for Justice Political Action Committee, the American Clean Power Association’s CleanPower PAC, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees PEOPLE, the American Hotel and Lodging Association Political Action Committee, the American Society of Anesthesiologists Political Action Committee and AmeriPAC: The Fund for a Greater America.

The contributors include corporate, trade association, and labor PACs across sectors such as insurance, health care, financial services, clean energy, hospitality, and organized labor.

The Ad Spend

On Sept. 14, the committee reported spending about $335,000 through Symmetry Media LLC on television and digital advertising opposing Beltran in Florida’s 14th District general election.

On April 13, it reported that Symmetry Media had received about $290,000 for television and digital advertising and production services supporting Democratic candidate Marni von Wilpert in the primary election in California's 48th District. On April 23, Waterfront Strategies Inc. was paid approximately $175,210 for television and digital advertising and production services supporting Democratic candidate Denise Powell in the primary election in Nebraska's 2nd District.

Waterfront Strategies was paid about $91,433 on June 26 for television and digital advertising supporting Democratic candidate Kaela Berg in the primary election in Minnesota's 2nd District.

Track this committee’s filings at Legis1.com.

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