The new super PAC launched to back Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy is linked to Democratic operatives who run a $60 million dark money “strategy center” for the 2020 election cycle, filings show, contradicting claims the PAC is a grassroots effort.
While the Biden campaign had previously said it does not welcome help from super PACs, records show that the same operatives involved in the creation of Unite the Country created the initial Biden PAC, For the People, and have been working to push moderate Democratic messaging.
As the Biden campaign has dealt with low fundraising numbers, it has changed its tune on accepting help from super PACs. The creation of a PAC, which Biden claims is a “grassroots response,” will allow major Democratic donors to give unlimited sums to aid Biden on his path to the nomination.
While the PAC, Unite the Country, was only established earlier this week, Democratic operatives Matt Tompkins and Mark Riddle are listed as directors of Unite the Country, Inc., which was incorporated by Tompkins on April 10 in Washington, D.C., according to a search of filings with the city’s of department of consumer and regulatory affairs. Tompkins also established the initial Biden PAC, For the People.
Tompkins and Riddle are also involved in Future Majority, a D.C.-based dark money strategy center working to “rebrand” the Democratic Party. Riddle is executive director of the group. Tompkins was not publicly tied to Future Majority at the time of the group’s announcement, but was listed as a governor in its D.C. business records, the Washington Free Beacon reported. – READ MORE