PAC Tracker 7/27

Primary School

— 9 min read
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These tallies will cover all independent expenditures filed with the FEC to date in races I’m watching by the end of the day yesterday, July 26, and report new expenses filed with the FEC since the last PAC Tracker’s cutoff, July 20. Future editions will update the tallies and report new expenses only. As a reminder, this will be included in all subscription tiers. Each item also now includes a brief summary of the race.

CA-14 (only counting expenditures since the June 2 primary)

BART board member Melissa Hernandez and state Sen. Aisha Wahab, who is seen as a progressive, face off in an all-Democratic special runoff in August to fill Eric Swalwell’s House seat, and then have a rematch for the full term in November.

Total IEs: $1,418,507.57 | +$1,056,241.49
Pro-Hernandez: $1,273,884.41 | +$962,429.91
Pro-Wahab: $86,623.16 | +$35,811.58
Anti-Wahab: $58,000 | +$58,000

CT-01

Liberal Rep. John Larson faces an age-based challenge from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, an ideologically amorphous Democrat, as well as less-funded but more progressive state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest.

Total IEs: $663,797.52 | +$321,520.84
Anti-Bronin: $1,500
Pro-Bronin: $609,047.52 | +$321,520.84
Pro-Larson: $53,250

FL-20

After Florida redrew its maps this year, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was left without a district to run in—or she would have been, had now-former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick not been brought down by a campaign finance scandal. Cherfilus-McCormick resigned amidst an indictment and a House Ethics probe, but is now seeking the seat she just vacated, along with several other candidates who all argue that this Black-majority district should have a Black representative—risking a Wasserman Schultz plurality.

Total IEs: $30,605.32 | +$30,605.32
Pro-Wasserman Schultz: $30,605.32 | +$30,605.32
  • $30,605.32 in mailers supporting Debbie Wasserman Schultz from the American College of Radiology Association PAC

FL-24

A crowded field of candidates including state Sen. Shevrin Jones and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert are fighting for the right to succeed retiring Rep. Frederica Wilson in this Black-majority Miami-area seat.

Total IEs: $1,408,690.51 | +$251,245.15
Anti-Gilbert: $82,236.37 | +$38,750
Pro-Gilbert: $528,518.03 | +$19,977.17
Anti-Jones: $70,055.89 | +$11,438
Pro-Jones: $727,880.22 | +$181,049.68

MA-Sen

Sen. Ed Markey should have retired this year, but he didn’t, and the choice is now between Markey and the one Massachusetts politician bold enough to challenge him: transphobic loser Seth Moulton, the congressman for Boston’s northern suburbs and exurbs.

Total IEs: $3,093,589.89 | +$462,545.46
Anti-Markey: $1,482,274.93
Anti-Moulton: $1,248,769.50 | +$100,000
Pro-Moulton: $362,545.46 | +$362,545.46
  • $100,000 in TV ads opposing Seth Moulton from Commonwealth Together PAC
  • $362,545.46 in digital ads supporting Seth Moulton from Advance Progress (a PAC which previously filed nearly $1.5 million in anti-Markey advertising that I missed in last week’s tally; no new anti-Markey ads were filed in the past week, only pro-Moulton and anti-Moulton)

MA-06

The race to succeed Moulton is an absolute clown car, with state Rep. Tram Nguyen and former MA-03 candidate Dan Koh seeming to lead the pack as self-funder John Beccia and a trio of underfunded progressives fight to break through.

Total IEs: $385,794.07 | +$55,497.50
Pro-Koh: $385,794.07 | +$55,497.50

MA-08

Rep. Stephen Lynch has long been an obvious primary target; he was socially conservative long after that stopped being unremarkable for a House Democrat, and he’s just generally up there in years. Attorney Patrick Roath has the backing of some progressive groups and labor unions as well as a lot of local elected officials, as he hopes to make this the year Lynch goes down.

Total IEs: $102,776.95 | +$41,226.88
Anti-Lynch: $102,776.95 | +$41,226.88

MI-Sen

It’s the marquee Senate primary of the cycle: 2018 gubernatorial candidate and former Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive favorite, faces establishment favorite Haley Stevens, a congresswoman from suburban Detroit, in an extraordinarily expensive and heated contest.

Total IEs: $49,970,397.40 | +$10,633,349.62
Anti-El-Sayed: $14,804,105.40 | +$5,047,316.80
Pro-El-Sayed: $2,330,459.63 | +$440,902.19
Anti-Stevens: $637,158.59 | +$238,959.92
Pro-Stevens: $32,198,673.80 | +$4,906,170.71

MI-07

The Democratic primary to take on first-term Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in this Lansing-area district has two candidates you might expect—both moderates, one a former US Ambassador to Ukraine (Bridget Brink) and the other a former Navy SEAL (Matt Maasdam). However, it’s a third candidate who has defined the race, win or lose: progressive Will Lawrence, who is making a strong run for the nomination in a must-win district for House Democrats and inspiring panic in DC.

Total IEs: $6,075,319.92 | +$2,341,613.34
Anti-Brink: $1,307,287 | +$350,627
Pro-Brink: $58,000 | +$58,000
Anti-Lawrence: $1,934,356.42 | +$899,952.18
Pro-Lawrence: $344,500 | +$255,540
Anti-Maasdam: $721,114.60 | +$721,114.60
Pro-Maasdam: $1,710,062.90 | +$56,379.56

MI-11

Neither state Sen. Jeremy Moss nor engineer Don Ufford is particularly exciting, much like this affluent suburban seat northwest of Detroit.

Total IEs: $144,881.68 | +$75,214
Anti-Moss: $20,000 | +$20,000
Pro-Moss: $104,881.68 | +$35,214
Pro-Ufford: $20,000 | +$20,000

MI-13

Rep. Shri Thanedar faces a stiff challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who has managed the rare feat of uniting the local establishment and DSA behind him.

Total IEs: $2,126,999.16 | +$633,013.60
Anti-Thanedar: $403,165.47 | +$125,091.34
Pro-Thanedar: $911,439 | +$33,526
Anti-McKinney: $215,160 | +$160,590
Pro-McKinney: $597,234.69 | +$313,806.26

MN-Sen

Retiring progressive Sen. Tina Smith wants Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to succeed her, as does just about every national and Minnesota progressive. Rep. Angie Craig has money and little else—but she does have a lot of money.

Total IEs: $15,478,916.77 | +$1,619,163.04
Anti-Craig: $2,054,344 | +$320,990
Pro-Craig: $7,344,577.60 | +$767,759.67
Anti-Flanagan: $6,025,995.17 | +$530,413.37
Pro-Flanagan: $54,000

MN-02

Two progressives—state Rep. Kaela Berg and DFL-endorsed former state Sen. Matt Little—face one moderate—state Sen. Matt Klein—for the open seat of U.S. Senate candidate Angie Craig.

Total IEs: $646,199.56 | +$172,767.97
Pro-Berg: $578,081.16 | +$123,399.71
Anti-Klein: $17,392.53 | +$8,017.46
Pro-Klein: $33,333.34 | +$33,333.34
Anti-Little: $17,392.53 | +$8,017.46

MO-01

Democratic socialist former Rep. Cori Bush lost her seat to AIPAC-backed challenger Wesley Bell in 2024, and she’s now seeking a rematch with the backing of DSA and Justice Democrats.

Total IEs: $2,730,725.95 | +$924,027.13
Pro-Bell: $705,988.98 | +$77,044.25
Anti-Bush: $2,021,636.97 | +$843,882.88
Pro-Bush: $3,100 | +$3,100

NH-01

The top two candidates for outgoing Rep. Chris Pappas’s seat, Stefany Shaheen and Maura Sullivan, are as uninspiring as he is. Shaheen is the daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, and Sullivan is a repeat NH-01 candidate who was a centrist back when she first ran in 2018 and remains a centrist now. There are other progressives running campaigns with varying degrees of resources; we’ll see if any break through.

Total IEs: $1,111,383.48 | +$205,913.09
Pro-Shaheen: $409,773.71 | +$55,913.09
Pro-Sullivan: $495,696,68 | +$150,000

WA-09

Socialist firebrand/crank Kshama Sawant is back, and this time she’s here to irritate Rep. Adam Smith, a bland centrist who has long led Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee.

Total IEs: $5,600
Pro-Sawant: $5,600

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