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| © Sean Gallup/Getty Images Financier and philanthropist George Soros. |
By Maggie Severns, POLITICO
Billionaire megadonor George Soros spent $28.3 million on the 2020 election during the first three months of the year on the 2020 election, including $10 million to fight voter disenfranchisement that Soros donated amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Soros’ $10 million will go to Win Justice, which mobilizes people of color and other infrequent voters who could be disenfranchised in the coming months as states battle over whether to hold in-person voting in November, an increasingly pressing concern among Democrats. He gave the money at a moment when many in the Democratic political world have warned that PACs and campaigns may run out of money as the economy -- and with it, donors’ pocketbooks -- seize up.
“We made major commitments to the Win Justice coalition and coalition members because we want them to be strong and well-funded going into the 2020 election,” a spokesman for Soros said. “The voters they talk to are among those who will most deeply and disproportionately affected by the upheaval the Covid-19 pandemic appears likely to cause in November..”
Soros paid several million dollars to Win Justice and groups that partner with it in late March, and he committed to give more in the coming months.
“The focus of Win Justice is helping to engage and mobilize irregular voters, to work to expand the base of people participating, and that’s what democracy should be about whether we’re in the midst of a crisis or not,” said Rashad Robinson, a civil rights activist and spokesman for Color of Change, which alongside groups like Planned Parenthood and the SEIU is a member of Win Justice.
Soros’ $28 million in donations, detailed in a new campaign finance disclosure from his family’s PAC, marks a major down payment on the election for the 89-year-old billionaire financier, who has not publicly outlined his spending plans for the 2020 election.
Soros gave millions of dollars in January and February to the main super PACs planning to help presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Democratic Senate candidates, including $5 million to pro-Biden Priorities USA and $7 million to Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Senate Democratic leadership.
He also donated major sums to groups building political power among women, including a $1 million donation to EMILY’s List, and $2 million to Supermajority, a PAC co-founded by former Planned Parenthood leader Cecile Richards and Black Lives Matter activist Alicia Garza.
Soros has also contributed money directly to fight the coronavirus, by giving 1 million euros to help his native Hungary prepare for the pandemic.
See more at POLITICO
Billionaire megadonor George Soros spent $28.3 million on the 2020 election during the first three months of the year on the 2020 election, including $10 million to fight voter disenfranchisement that Soros donated amid the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Soros’ $10 million will go to Win Justice, which mobilizes people of color and other infrequent voters who could be disenfranchised in the coming months as states battle over whether to hold in-person voting in November, an increasingly pressing concern among Democrats. He gave the money at a moment when many in the Democratic political world have warned that PACs and campaigns may run out of money as the economy -- and with it, donors’ pocketbooks -- seize up.
“We made major commitments to the Win Justice coalition and coalition members because we want them to be strong and well-funded going into the 2020 election,” a spokesman for Soros said. “The voters they talk to are among those who will most deeply and disproportionately affected by the upheaval the Covid-19 pandemic appears likely to cause in November..”
Soros paid several million dollars to Win Justice and groups that partner with it in late March, and he committed to give more in the coming months.
“The focus of Win Justice is helping to engage and mobilize irregular voters, to work to expand the base of people participating, and that’s what democracy should be about whether we’re in the midst of a crisis or not,” said Rashad Robinson, a civil rights activist and spokesman for Color of Change, which alongside groups like Planned Parenthood and the SEIU is a member of Win Justice.
Soros’ $28 million in donations, detailed in a new campaign finance disclosure from his family’s PAC, marks a major down payment on the election for the 89-year-old billionaire financier, who has not publicly outlined his spending plans for the 2020 election.
Soros gave millions of dollars in January and February to the main super PACs planning to help presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Democratic Senate candidates, including $5 million to pro-Biden Priorities USA and $7 million to Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with Senate Democratic leadership.
He also donated major sums to groups building political power among women, including a $1 million donation to EMILY’s List, and $2 million to Supermajority, a PAC co-founded by former Planned Parenthood leader Cecile Richards and Black Lives Matter activist Alicia Garza.
Soros has also contributed money directly to fight the coronavirus, by giving 1 million euros to help his native Hungary prepare for the pandemic.
See more at POLITICO
