The big-money era of politics has seen smaller, and often new organizations burst onto the political scene with serious fundraising capacity. Perhaps one of the most responsive to the moment is BlackPAC. The civil-rights-focused group emerged in 2016 amid police killings of black people and subsequent protests of the police. Founded by activist and community organizer Adrianne Shropshire, the group has quickly gone from one of the many new groups birthed out of the 2014 protest movement to a formidable presence in election years and a close ally of the Democratic Party’s outside spending apparatus.
Read Blue Tent’s research brief: BlackPAC: What Donors Need to Know.
Although launched in 2016, BlackPAC was only modestly involved in that cycle’s presidential race. The first victory to put the super PAC on the map came in Alabama, when the group helped Democrats win a special Senate election in 2017. BlackPAC worked in conjunction with other leading liberal groups to deploy more than a half-million donors for Doug Jones, helping him defeat Republican candidate Roy Moore. The super PAC would go on to support a handful of other candidates with media in the 2018 midterms, and although the results were mixed in a down year for upper chamber Democrats, BlackPAC’s spending on canvassing for Jones all went toward a victory, demonstrating the strength of the group’s ground game.
In 2020, BlackPAC seemed to operate more in concert with the liberal election apparatus. For one thing, the group was one of the leading super PACs of 2020, spending nearly $32 million in the cycle and looking more like a typical super PAC while doing it. BlackPAC spent about as much, $10 million, on campaign expenses, which cover the on-the-ground work the group is most known for, and media, which is the most common focus for large, outside spenders. BlackPAC helped the coalition of groups getting out the vote in Georgia for the Senate runoff races, and the group has been widely credited for helping reach Black voters in competitive districts.
BlackPAC’s donor rolls include some of the biggest names in liberal politics—and even some other major super PACs. In 2016, BlackPAC’s top individual donor was Priorities USA, a liberal super PAC that focuses on supporting the Democratic presidential nominee every four years. By 2020, the group was attracting contributions from big names like Michael Bloomberg ($7.4 million), the George Soros-created super PAC Democracy PAC ($2.5 million), the League of Conservation Voters ($1.75 million), and Unite the Country ($1.6 million). Also heavy on BlackPAC’s donor rolls is dark money. In the last three years, the group has taken donations from places like America Votes, Sixteen Thirty Fund, and Propel Capital, which are organizations not required to disclose their donors.
BlackPAC has received some scrutiny over its funders—not just the dark money, but also wealthy white donors who may influence the Black organization’s goals. But BlackPAC’s impact has been undeniable in elevating Black voters and helping win elections for progressives.
BlackPAC hasn’t said much publicly about its plans for the 2022 midterms and beyond. But it’s determined to ensure that the voices of Black voters are heard right now in Washington, D.C., stating on its website: “We believe in holding the candidates and elected officials we support accountable for tackling the issues that affect our communities.”
In March 2021, the group released a survey of Black voters that found that “75% of Black voters approve of the job Senate Democrats are currently doing. However, they expressed their clear expectation that Democrats deliver on their policy promises, with 78% saying that addressing priority issues for Black communities would be necessary to ensure Black voters’ participation in the midterm elections.” BlackPAC’s Shropshire has said that voting rights are especially important to Black voters, commenting frequently on this issue on Twitter and urging Democrats in Congress to take action. “This is the biggest civil rights fight in a generation,” she wrote in early October.
For more on BlackPAC’s work, how its leadership handles criticism about its funders, and Blue Tent’s thoughts on whether to donate, see our super PAC brief here.