House Democratic Super PAC raised $4.3 million in Q2
July 10, 2012
(Reuters) – House Majority PAC, a “Super PAC” aimed at helping elect Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives, said Tuesday it raised $4.3 million in the second quarter of 2012, a notable jump from the first three months of the year.
The figures released show that the “super” political action committee had more than $4 million left in cash on hand by the end of June.
In the first three months of the year, House Majority PAC raised $1.5 million, largely from labor unions, and had $1.7 million in cash on hand.
House Majority PAC reports its financials to the Federal Election Commission once every quarter and the official filing, disclosing new donors, is due by the end of the week.
Since March, earlier disclosures submitted because of the group’s involvement in the Arizona special election and the California primary, showed that House Majority received another $115,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Texas personal injury lawyer Amber Anderson gave $500,000 and hedge fund manager Donald Sussman doubled his earlier donation of $250,000, bringing his total donations to the group to $650,000. Cindy Harrell-Horn, wife of Walt DisneyStudios’ new chairman Alan Horn, also gave $100,000 to House Majority PAC, a filing in May showed.
House Majority is part of an alliance of outside Democratic spending groups formed to help the party withstand a multimillion-dollar offensive planned by their Republican counterparts.
Like any other Super PAC, House Majority PAC can raise and spend unlimited money to help Democratic candidates or attack rivals as long as it does not coordinate with official campaigns or party efforts.
Republican groups, vowing to pour hundreds of millions into the races, hope to unseat Democratic President Barack Obama in the White House, keep the Republican majority in the House and take control of the U.S. Senate.
“House Majority PAC is committed to marshaling the resources to effectively combat their efforts to promote and defend the House GOP’s extreme agenda,” Alixandria Lapp, the Democratic PAC’s executive director, said in a statement.
The group, hoping to emphasize its grassroots support, said it received 3,489 online donations of $100 or less, averaging $27.81. A total of 3,412 donors gave to the PAC since March.
Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to become the majority party in the House.