WESA's local, independent journalism is only possible because of financial support from readers like you. Please support WESA by making a donation during our fall fundraising campaign.
Between each cable news segment or disappointing Pirates inning, Pittsburgh voters are subjected to a barrage of political ads, many attributed to groups with vague names. “WinSenate is responsible for the content of this ad,” some say. Others are claimed by “FF PAC.”
Messages like “Keystone Renewal is responsible” may leave viewers wondering, “So who is responsible for Keystone Renewal?”
A PublicSource and WESA analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission and AdImpact found that to a large extent, the ads Pittsburgh voters find on TV are funded by a small group of billionaires spread across the country, and by so-called “dark money” groups whose tax status exempts them from disclosing their donors’ identities.
Campaigns and political action committees related to the state’s U.S. Senate contest and the race for Pennsylvania’s crucial 19 presidential electoral votes have purchased TV ad time in the Pittsburgh market to the tune of more than $150 million between May 1, just after the state’s primaries, through the end of the year.
Timothy Mellon, a reclusive Wyoming billionaire and heir to the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, has donated at least $125 million to a Super PAC aligned with presidential candidate Donald Trump since the beginning of 2023. That PAC, called Make America Great Again, Inc., has in turn purchased more than $18 million worth of TV ad time in the Pittsburgh area alone, making it the biggest ad purchaser in the market related to the presidential contest.
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire and former New York mayor, has given at least $19 million to FF PAC, a group that has in turn bought $16 million worth of airtime in the Pittsburgh market to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
Kenneth Griffin, a Miami-based billionaire and hedge fund manager, donated $10 million to a PAC called Keystone Renewal, which has spent more than $21 million on ads in the Pittsburgh market backing Republican Dave McCormick’s bid for the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Bob Casey.
PublicSource and WESA contacted the 10 largest donors and heard back from just one — Griffin.
“We need leaders in Washington who are committed to securing our borders, stopping inflation and ensuring a strong national defense,” Griffin said in a prepared statement from his hedge fund’s spokesperson, explaining his support for McCormick.
The candidates’ own campaigns operate under strict campaign finance regulations, limiting contributions to a few thousand dollars each. Super PACs and dark money organizations face no such limits, but are barred from coordinating directly with candidates.
The outside groups’ role is significant: In one competitive congressional race northwest of Pittsburgh, 86% of the ad spending came from outside groups to just 14% from the candidates’ campaigns.
This unlimited flow of donations to Super PACs has an indirect benefit for candidates, according to Chatham University political science professor Jennie Sweet-Cushman. The outside groups tend to home in on negative messages, she said. “That allowed for the candidate to keep their hands clean of doing the negative stuff [themselves] and say that they’re running a positive campaign.”
The negative ads can impact turnout and enthusiasm among swing state voters, Sweet-Cushman said.
“It seems to me that a lot of the ads that are being run by these organizations, by who knows who the heck is funding these things, are fear tactics and un-nuanced kinds of messaging that the candidates may benefit from because these lesser-informed voters are more susceptible to that kind of information,” she said.
Most of the individual donations those groups receive are over half a million dollars. Make America Great Again, Inc. raised 92% of its money from donations of $500,000 or more. FF PAC, which supported President Biden’s now-defunct re-election bid and now supports Harris, received 93% of its funds since 2023 from donations of $500,000 or more.
A sizable chunk of the money flooding the airwaves is not traceable to any individual. So-called “dark money” groups, possessing tax status that allow them to avoid disclosing individual donors, contributed well over $100 million to groups buying ad time in Pittsburgh.
Both political factions rely on them.
Future Forward USA Action donated more than $50 million to FF PAC, which bought ads supporting Harris. Tax filings show Future Forward was formed in 2018 and is led by Chauncey McLean, a Democratic operative who was involved in Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns.
Another group, One Nation, has spent millions on ads criticizing Casey. Public records and news reports show One Nation has a track record of supporting Republican Senate candidates, was founded by conservative strategist Karl Rove and is led by a former George W. Bush administration official.
Neither group has to disclose who gave them the millions of dollars they direct into political television ads.
While voters generally dislike “dark money” influencing politics, they may not be paying close attention to who is claiming responsibility for ads they see on TV, Sweet-Cushman said.
“The people who the ads are targeted at probably don’t think very critically about that,” she said. “Even if they might dismiss it as being something that came from an organization they’ve never heard of, or they couldn’t really place where on the partisan spectrum the organization may be from, it still might plant that seed of doubt.”
Dark money duel in congressional race
As both parties eye a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district has drawn investment from Super PACs on both sides of the aisle.
Incumbent Rep. Chris Deluzio, an Aspinwall Democrat, is backed by almost $2 million in ad spending from House Majority PAC, a group associated with Democratic leadership in the chamber which saw six- and seven-figure donations from Bloomberg, Simons, Eychaner and a handful of dark-money groups, among others.
His challenger, Republican state Rep. Rob Mercuri of Pine, will benefit from $2.2 million in ad support from the Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund, which received most of its money from two dark money groups. The fund takes its name from the year of the GOP’s founding.
Of $5 million in total ad spending in this race so far, just $690,000 came from the candidates’ own campaigns.
The fight for Harrisburg
The closely contested race to control the state House and Senate, which are currently held by thin majorities of one and three seats, respectively, is being run under different disclosure rules than federal races. Because state candidates have to disclose their donors less frequently, information about who is funding legislative races will not come out until mid-October.
But judging from what’s been spent on ads recently, a lot of money has flowed into local legislative races since the last disclosure in May.
The campaign of Devlin Robinson, an incumbent Republican state senator trying to hold onto the swingy 37th district on Allegheny County’s western flank, has reserved more than $2 million in ad time through November. His campaign reported just over $700,000 on hand as of May 13. His opponent, Democrat Nicole Ruscitto, has reserved about $440,000 worth of ads, and reported just $160,000 on hand May 13.
In the region’s other closely watched state Senate race, the Mon Valley-centric 45th district, Republican Jen Dintini has reserved $1.3 million in ad time but reported just $44,000 on hand May 13. She faces Democrat Nick Pisciottano, a state House member looking to move into the upper chamber, whose campaign has reserved about $300,000 in ad time so far.
The statewide contest for attorney general has seen an explosion in ad spending in recent weeks, with two outside groups spending more than $12 million to boost Republican nominee Dave Sunday. Commonwealth Leaders Fund, which spent $6.3 million, is funded by Jeff Yass, an Eastern Pennsylvania billionaire known for pouring money into conservative political causes and candidates.
The public will learn of legislative candidates’ fundraising activities since May on Oct. 25, just 11 days before the Nov. 5 general election.
Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
Tom Riese is 90.5 WESA’s Harrisburg-based Capitol reporter. He can be reached at triese@wesa.fm.
This story was fact-checked by Spencer Levering.
Support WESA
We’re experiencing life in Pittsburgh along with you. We’re all curious about the world and want to find solutions to problems in our neighborhoods, schools, and government. Our reporting helps you do that.
WESA’s role in our partnership with you is to investigate, interview, report and produce. We’re asking you to be involved. WESA thrives because of community involvement and listener contributions.
When you give, you’ll be doing something great for yourself and your family, and others across the entire region. Everyone benefits from an independent news organization that has the community’s best interest in mind. That’s WESA. Please make sure everyone has access to this essential news source.
Your gift of $10 a month, or any other amount, makes this work a reality.
