Election 2018

Koch Ad Spending in 2016 Election Cracks $25 Million

Aug 31, 2016

Based on their latest FEC filings and on press accounts, Koch network groups have now spent more than $25 million on ads alone during this election. This figure does not incorporate the largely unknown and unreported millions of dollars that network ‘dark money’ groups like Americans for Prosperity, Generation Opportunity, and the LIBRE Initiative are spending on field operations.

Even this $25 million is only a fraction of the spending the Kochs have promised. Their Freedom Partners Action Fund Super PAC has pledged to spend “more than $42 million on ads in key Senate races through the end of September” with no word about the five expensive weeks remaining before the election; Charles Koch has estimated that the broader network will spend a whopping $750 million total.

 

Freedom Partners Action Fund: $22,934,980 (from most recent FEC filings as of 8/30/16)

Ohio Senate: $8,808,824

Pennsylvania Senate: $5,652,115

Nevada Senate: $4,586,671

Wisconsin Senate: $2,796,560

Indiana Senate: $1,054,481

President: $36,329

 

Dark Money Ads (estimates based on press releases and accounts)

Concerned Veterans for America: $2.2 million

Pennsylvania Senate: $1.5 million

Nevada Senate: $700,000