Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Republican megadonor Jeff Yass recently gave to a super PAC that is trying to topple a progressive incumbent in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
The Moderate PAC, an outside group that aims to support centrist Democrats, has been boosting a primary challenge to Rep. Summer Lee, a member of \u201cThe Squad.\u201d Lee and her supporters are quick to point out that Yass, a Pennsylvania businessperson, donated $1 million to the PAC in 2022, when it spent in support of Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Don Davis of North Carolina.<\/p>\n
Yass has actually given more to the group in recent weeks, Moderate PAC’s president, Ty Strong, told POLITICO \u2014 the first time that donation is being disclosed publicly.<\/p>\n
Moderate PAC was formed last cycle, and received almost no donations last year. When the PAC began airing its first ad last month \u2014 a contrast ad boosting Lee\u2019s challenger Bhavini Patel, a member of the Edgewood Borough Council \u2014 Strong said that it was funded by donations<\/a> raised in Lee\u2019s 12th District.<\/p>\n Strong declined to say how much the billionaire gave this time around, saying the details will be disclosed in a campaign finance filing due later this month. He said he approached Yass in March, after receiving the donations from constituents in the district.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to Jeff Yass and made a proposal,\u201d Strong said. \u201cHe knew nothing about Summer. \u2026 He\u2019s a really wealthy guy, so he made a donation in line with his wealth. But there’s other Pittsburgh people that are now seeing this and doing the same thing. And so it’s not Jeff Yass, it’s me and Pittsburgh who realized that this far-left member shouldn’t be representing a D-plus-eight district.\u201d<\/p>\n Strong said that Pittsburgh-based donations will match Yass\u2019 contribution.<\/p>\n Yass is a major donor to the conservative Club for Growth. He has also been in headlines recently<\/a> amid the congressional push for TikTok\u2019s Chinese-owned parent company \u2014 which Yass has investments in \u2014 to sell the app. Strong said that Yass “has no lean in this other than he likes a moderate Democrat, as opposed to a far-left Democrat.”<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s obviously painted a certain way in the media,\u201d said Strong, a former financial analyst. \u201cBut I realized that what he really cares about is that he’s a libertarian, but he’s also free market. And so with my economic background, I kind of talked about that. \u2026 He does like certain Democrats, and he likes Bhavini as a Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n Moderate PAC released its second ad on Tuesday, accusing Lee<\/a> of \u201copposing\u201d President Joe Biden. The group has placed more than $500,000 on television and digital advertising since the beginning of the year, according to ad tracker AdImpact. (Patel\u2019s campaign has spent around $150,000.) Strong said that future investments will be dependent on fundraising, but the group will \u201cstay in the race and keep up at the same pace as long as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside players are also coming to Lee\u2019s aid. Working Families Party, the Muslim advocacy group Emgage and Justice Democrats are planning to spend $500,000 combined on TV and digital advertisements boosting the incumbent, said Ari Kamen, mid-Atlantic regional director at the Working Families Party. That investment is supplementing the more than $700,000 Lee has already put onto the airwaves.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s allies are explicitly using Yass\u2019 support to try to discredit her challenger. \u201cThe attacks on Congresswoman Summer Lee are funded by a Republican billionaire,\u201d an ad from the groups<\/a> that was released last week leads with.<\/p>\n There is one notable player that has yet to be seen: United Democracy Project, the super PAC arm of American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Lee and other members of The Squad have been bracing for heavy spending<\/a> from the group, as AIPAC has vowed to drop $100 million this cycle to oust progressives<\/a> for their support for Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n The group typically starts spending in races in the weeks before the election \u2014 but there are less than three weeks to go before Pennsylvania\u2019s April 23 primary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe clock is ticking,\u201d said Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic strategist who is not involved in the race. \u201cAs each day goes by, it\u2019s a day they can\u2019t get back, especially because mail ballots will be in people’s hands soon.\u201d<\/p>\n A version of this story first appeared in POLITICO Pro\u2019s Morning Score newsletter.\u00a0Sign up for POLITICO Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n