At The Washington Post, Matea Gold reports that
Harry Reid's attacks on the
Kochs have led some big GOP donors to seek the anonymity of 501(c)(4) groups.
The trend can be seen at the prominent GOP super PAC co-founded by strategist Karl Rove, American Crossroads, which discloses its donors to the Federal Election Commission.
The group, which hauled in $117 million during the 2012 election, has raised $9 million so far this cycle, including just $266,000 in April.
At the same time, group officials said, donors are more interested than ever in supporting Crossroads GPS, a sister organization with a tax-exempt status that allows it to keep its donor list private. The two groups recently kicked off a $10 million television advertising campaign against vulnerable Senate Democrats — $8 million of which was paid for by Crossroads GPS.
Paul Lindsay, a Crossroads spokesman, said the spotlight that Reid (D-Nev.) and others have put on major political funders on the right has driven more contributors to the nonprofit arm. Democrats are “dragging private citizens through the mud, and that’s led to a shift of sorts for donors,” Lindsay said.
