Soros caps off midterm spending with $50M super PAC contribution
The billionaire Democratic donor gave tens of millions of dollars to his party’s candidates, super PACs and other groups in 2022.
Billionaire George Soros, the biggest disclosed Democratic donor in the 2022 election cycle, gave another $50 million to a super PAC in the fall, building on an already large investment in Democratic groups and candidates for the 2024 election cycle and beyond.
Democracy PAC, which has served as one of Soros’ major political spending vehicles since 2019, received another eight-figure infusion of cash from Soros earlier this month, according to a person directly familiar with the group’s new Federal Elections Commission filing, which will be publicly released on Thursday. It’s the latest sign that Soros will continue to play an enormous role in the Democratic campaign finance ecosystem, particularly ahead of the next presidential election.
All of Soros’ 2022 campaign spending — including direct contributions to candidates and committees, as well as donations to a pair of super PACs — totaled about $50 million, likely placing atop the list of the biggest Democratic donors during the midterms, according to OpenSecrets. Soros has long been one of the Democratic Party’s most generous donors, spending millions on everything from presidential and congressional races to state offices, ballot measures and even local prosecutor races.
Either directly or through his affiliated super PACs, Soros in the 2022 cycle, gave $14 million to Senate Majority PAC, the flagship Senate Democratic super PAC. That includes $1 million for the Georgia runoff, which Sen. Raphael Warnock won on Tuesday night, giving Democrats a 51-seat majority in the Senate. Soros sent another $5 million to House Majority PAC, the main House Democratic super PAC, according to the person directly familiar with the Democracy PAC filing.
Other major recipients of Soros’ contributions this election cycle included: Stacey Abrams, who received $4 million but lost her bid for Georgia governor; the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which received $1.5 million; and Planned Parenthood, the Working Families Party and J Street, each of which got $1 million.
Last January, Soros seeded Democracy PAC with $125 million, a “long-term investment” in his political priorities. The group was formed to support pro-democracy “causes and candidates, regardless of party” and to invest in “strengthening the infrastructure of American democracy: voting rights and civic participation, civil rights and liberties, and the rule of law,” Soros said in a statement at the time.
Soros’ son, Alexander, has served as the PAC’s president.