A super PAC that spent millions attacking Republican Sen. Ted Cruz during the midterm election was revealed Thursday to be funded almost entirely by Washington, D.C., Democrats.
The Texas Forever PAC, which spent $2.3 million on last-minute anti-Cruz attack ads, was funded by the Senate Majority PAC except for $10,000, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings in December. The Senate Majority PAC has strong ties to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and fundraises to help Democrats win control of the Senate.
Texas Forever was created less than a month before the November election and after the last deadline to report donors prior to Election Day. Because it launched so close to the election, Texas Forever was able to sidestep revealing where the funds came from until a month after voting concluded, a strategy that has been more frequently utilized with super PACs this election cycle, reported Politico.
The Super PAC’s goal was to help Cruz’s Democratic challenger, Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke of Texas, win and flip the U.S. Senate seat blue. O’Rourke has railed against money in politics and even ran on an anti-PAC platform, a stance that he frequently promulgated while campaigning for Senate. Super PACs, however, operate separately from politicians and their political campaigns.
Interestingly, the El Paso congressman seemingly violated his campaign pledge after FEC filings showed O’Rourke accepting over $170,000 from the anti-Zionist J Street PAC. Emily Miller, a spokeswoman for Cruz’s campaign, called for O’Rourke to return the money. (RELATED: Ted Cruz Predicts ‘Anger And Rage’ May Lead To Impeachment)
“Rep. Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke travels all over Texas claiming that PACs are corrupt, and he’s made his alleged rejection of PAC influence a cornerstone of his campaign,” Miller said in July. “But now we know that O’Rourke’s actions have not matched his words, and he has accepted significant fundraising support from the extremist, yet influential, anti-Israel J Street PAC to aid his candidacy.”
Sen. Ted Cruz shakes hands with supporters during a rally to launch his re-election campaign at the Redneck Country Club on April 2, 2018 in Stafford, Texas. (Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
“If O’Rourke does believe that PAC support is corrupting, then he should immediately return the $172,285 raised for him by J Street PAC,” Miller continued. O’Rourke did not return the money.
Cruz ultimately won re-election to retain his seat as the junior U.S. senator from Texas.
Schumer’s office did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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