Photo: Reid Hoffman, a venture capitalist and co-founder of LinkedIn has
pushed millions into the coffers of Democratic committees (Getty Images)
A new Republican women's group who is "fed up with
Trump" and pouring cash into toss-up congressional districts is bankrolled
solely by a male billionaire venture capitalist, Reid Hoffman, who is a major donor to
Democratic campaigns and causes, Federal Election Commission filings show.
Republican Women for Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based
"grassroots" nonprofit, was founded by Jennifer Pierotti Lim and
Meghan Milloy and is comprised
of "right-leaning" women who are opposed to President Donald Trump. Their PAC is active in New Jersey, Kentucky and Michigan.
The group has garnered glowing national media profiles
that include a ten-minute segment on CBS News and articles in
publications such as Glamour, Slate, and others.
The group is so far active in competitive congressional
districts in New Jersey, Kentucky, and Michigan.
"We think the best thing that we can do for the
party and for the country right now is to make sure there are good
women—Democrat or Republican—that are elected to office and who can serve as a
check on this administration and on the president," Milloy told the Detroit
Metro Times. "[This
effort] really was inspired by us talking to Republican women in these
districts where they said there was just no way that they could vote for the
Republican."
The group established
a political action committee, the Republican Women for Progress PAC, on Sept.
13 to support their work for the midterms and has since spent $231,000 on independent expenditures for voter recruitment
and advertisement productions in the toss-up districts in three states.
The PAC disbursed $76,000 on ads and recruitment in
support of Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey's 11th congressional district, $78,000
backing Amy McGrath in Kentucky's 6th congressional district, and $77,000 on
Elissa Slotkin in Michigan's 8th congressional district.
The PAC's October quarterly filing—the first from the
group—also shows that the group of Republican women is bankrolled by just one
donor: Reid Hoffman, a venture capitalist and co-founder of LinkedIn, who is a
major donor to Democrats.
Hoffman cut a $400,000 to the PAC on Sept. 27, its filings show.
Hoffman has pushed millions into the coffers of
Democratic committees and campaigns this cycle.
Hoffman provided $3 million to the House Majority PAC, a PAC closely
affiliated with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) that is focused
on electing and keeping Democrats in the House of Representatives; $2 million
to the Senate Majority PAC, a PAC dedicated to electing and preserving
Democrats in the Senate; and $1 million to Forward Majority Action, a group
launched by former Obama alumni.
Hoffman also sent a maxed contribution to the Democratic
National Committee and pushed cash to the campaigns of Democratic Sens. Sherrod
Brown (Ohio), Tim Kaine (Va.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Bob
Menendez (N.J.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Phil Bredesen
(Tenn.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) among others.
The venture capitalist additionally sent money to a
number of Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives and the
Massachusetts Republican Party.
The co-founders of Republican Women for Progress
previously led
Republican Women for Hillary during the 2016 elections. That group was featured
on Full
Frontal with Samantha Bee, Yahoo News, Wall Street Journal, the Hill, U.S News and World Report, and the New York Times.
Following publication, Jennifer Lim, co-founder of
Republican Women for Progress, sent the following comment:
"In
terms of the Reid Hoffman donation, even a male tech billionaire and major
Democratic donor recognizes the important role women should play in the
Republican party. We are pleased to have the support of donors across the
ideological spectrum to ensure the voice of republican women is heard across
the country."
