Democratic mega-donor poised to boost Jasmine Crockett
There’s a new must-have accessory for Democratic Senate candidates in 2026: their own super PAC.
Two candidates, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Texas state Rep. James Talarico, have well-funded outside groups airing ads boosting their candidacies. A Democratic mega-donor could soon fund a group backing Rep. Jasmine Crockett, according to four party sources with knowledge of the discussions. Candidates in the Democratic Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota are also expected to have super PACs, agents said.
While the Democratic base has long been suspicious of the role big money plays in shifting public policy in favor of the wealthy, operatives said the seemingly unstoppable rise of big-spending outside groups has led many candidates and campaigns to decide they have no choice but to fight fire with fire.
“If you’re running for office, you should do everything you can under the law to try to win,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic strategist. “The arms race is only increasing, so it makes absolutely sense to create a super PAC to win a primary when no one else is coming to help you.”
Of particular concern, multiple strategists said, are PACs created by monetary interests such as the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The groups have shown a willingness to spend tens of millions of dollars on ads on unrelated issues to boost the candidates they support or destroy those they oppose, and officials want to be prepared to counter their efforts.
“No one wants to be caught off guard if crypto or AIPAC decides to bomb their candidate,” said one Democratic operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about divisions within the party. “And the only way to fight that amount of money is with your own money.”
Candidates with the backing of those powerful groups may also want to have a group controlled by their allies to spend money the way they prefer.
Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts to support a candidate, as long as they do not coordinate directly with the candidate’s campaign. While congressional leaders of both parties and presidential candidates have had allies running these groups, which tend to rely on massive donations from a relatively small number of wealthy backers, Republicans have been much quicker than Democrats to embrace super PACs created to fund a single campaign for the U.S. House or Senate.
The decision to adopt super PACs worries some progressives, who fear their side will always be outmatched in a race for money. It’s also causing turmoil among operatives focused on victory in November, who fear the primaries will be nastier and harder to recover from, as super PACs often air more brutal attack ads than campaigns. Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, while Democrats face competitive primaries in at least five seats they hope to win in November.
via News
Beyond the groups already airing Talarico and Stratton ads, a super PAC backing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota released a poll this week showing her leading in that state’s primary. Democratic operatives said they had also heard discussions about creating super PACs to support Rep. Angie Craig, Flanagan’s main competition, and Rep. Haley Stevens’ campaign in Michigan. Talks about creating super PACs were in various stages, agents warned, and some of them may not come to fruition.
Talks appear especially advanced around an effort to endorse Crockett, who is running against Talarico in Texas, a state Democrats hope to make competitive in November. Two sources said the group could receive funding from Democratic mega-donor Karla Jurvetson and is looking to hire staff. Jurvetson is a board member of EMILY’s List and is known for endorsing female, Black, and Latina candidates.
A super PAC called “Forward Texas” filed its application with the Federal Election Commission on December 9, the same day Crockett officially announced his Senate candidacy.
Jurvetson could not be reached for comment. although Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday He was on a call to donors for Crockett’s campaign last week, where a campaign strategist said attack ads targeting Talarico were coming in. Crockett’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Such a PAC could help Crockett close a huge primary spending gap: Talarico and the super PAC that supports him, Lone Star Rising PAC, have outspent Crockett by between $4.5 million and $441,000 ahead of the March 1 primary, according to a Democratic source who tracks media buys.
“He’s taking on Trump and the billionaires, and he’s winning,” says a narrator in one of Lone Star Rising’s digital ads.
The outside group Lone Star Rising PAC yesterday began posting this ad for James Talarico on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It’s your first ad.
On YouTube, the ad is running in 100 zip codes, including throughout the Rio Grande Valley and in the cities of Dallas, Houston, Austin and El Paso pic.twitter.com/Fl41xCyslw
– Andrewrem (@MrAreng) January 15, 2026
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The outside group Lone Star Rising PAC yesterday began posting this ad for James Talarico on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It’s your first ad.
On YouTube, the ad is running in 100 zip codes, including throughout the Rio Grande Valley and in the cities of Dallas, Houston, Austin and El Paso pic.twitter.com/Fl41xCyslw
– Andrewrem (@MrAreng) January 15, 2026
Republicans, by contrast, embrace super PACs with little of the teeth-gnashing that Democrats experience. Billionaire Republican megadonor Elon Musk gave $10 million to businessman Nate Morris, who backed the super PAC, in the Kentucky Republican Senate primary earlier this month, and Morris’s campaign responded by putting very specific instructions on its website about how the super PAC should deploy its newfound wealth.
But the way super PACs can quickly reshape a race is most visible right now in the Illinois Democratic primary. There, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has built a substantial lead in public polls without a super PAC thanks to his own superlative fundraising, which has allowed him to spend tens of millions on ads starting last May, nearly a year before the March 17 primary.
Stratton, his primary opponent, had less than $1 million on hand as of the Federal Election Commission’s latest reporting deadline, insufficient to mount a campaign that could challenge Krishnamoorthi’s leadership. But a super PAC backing her, Illinois Future, has begun spending hundreds of thousands on television ads.
“What will it take to reduce costs in Illinois?” asks a narrator in the group’s first ad about images of Stratton’s youth and career. “It takes courage to grow up working class.”
Illinois Future has not yet filed a fundraising report with the FEC. His finances have been the subject of intense speculation within Illinois politics over the possibility that Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire who has been willing to spend tens of millions of dollars of his own money on his political ambitions in the past, might donate to him. It could be enough cash to fuel Stratton’s return.
Krishnamoorthi’s campaign said the super PAC’s work (including a recent incident in which it aired ads with inadequate information) was “the reason people hate politics” and a sign of Stratton’s struggle in the polls. A spokesperson for Stratton’s campaign responded by pointing out that Krishnamoorthi’s campaign war chest and his lead in the polls were built, in part, thanks to donations from corporate PACs and some Trump allies, and accused the lawmaker of “being funded by the same people who run and profit from the MAGA agenda.”