BOLD MOVE
How a Scam PAC Lost Its Patron—and All of Its Donors
Sheriff David Clarke himself dubbed the group a ‘scam PAC’ in a July 2017 interview. But it continued raising money under his name.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty
So-called scam PACs frequently rely on their supposed backing from, or support for, well-known political figures, particularly ones beloved by the political grassroots. So what happens when they’re forced to drop the pretense that they’re affiliated with or exist primarily to support such figures?
Fortunately we have a recent test case, and the results are pretty stark.
The Sheriff David Clarke for U.S. Senate Official Draft Campaign PAC raised millions of dollars during the 2018 election cycle from donors, particularly small-dollar ones, enthralled at the prospect of supporting a Senate run by the right-wing celebrity. But there was one problem: Clarke himself wanted nothing to do with the PAC, which appears to have done little but rent out the political email lists owned by its operator.