May 26, 2026
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THE TOP
Mystery PACs roil Democratic primaries
Happy Tuesday morning.
Something strange is happening in several crucial House Democratic primaries.
Mysterious super PACs are quietly emerging and spending heavily to boost candidates whom many top Democrats view as less formidable, or even toxic, in general elections. Three of these stealthy groups spent a collective $4.3 million so far in five primaries in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, California, Texas and New Jersey.
The source of these groups’ funding is obscured. That’s somewhat common in the post-Citizens United era of dark money. But what’s truly baffling is that it’s nearly impossible to tell who is behind these super PACs. And their operators are becoming incredibly skilled at covering their tracks.
Democrats insist this is a Republican effort to meddle in Democratic primaries to ensure they face the weakest candidate in November.
The largest of these groups, Lead Left PAC, does have at least one GOP tie. Its website’s metadata included a link to WinRed, the Republican online fundraising clearinghouse. But there is no smoking gun connecting these groups to Republicans, and that’s notable given the myriad of disclosures required to run ads in U.S. elections.
Lead Left PAC has spent $3.1 million across three races. It was unsuccessful in elevating its preferred candidate in Pennsylvania, but successful in Nebraska. The group dropped nearly $1 million on ads propping up a Texas Democrat who is a self-described sex therapist and has made comments disparaging Jews.
Another newly created group, called Real Change PAC, just spent nearly $600,000 in a Democratic primary in a New Jersey battleground seat.
These super PACs have to file statements of organization with the FEC, report these independent expenditures and place orders with TV and radio stations. Typically, all this offers clues into who is running the group and their partisan affiliation because the treasurer is a known political operative. Mail firms and ad buyers also usually work for one party or the other.
But not this time.
The trail. The treasurers of these groups have no apparent online footprint. The addresses listed are post offices, Staples stores or similar sites. The mail firm (Piruzi LLC) and media buyer (OTG Media LLC) for Lead Left PAC were incorporated shortly before the spending began. This means someone created shell companies to hide their identities.
Real Change PAC has paid Four Ponies Consulting LLC for mail and ads. That group was incorporated on April 29, and its address is listed as a Staples store in Florida. Per the FEC, Four Ponies Consulting LLC has received payments from one other entity, California Blue PAC. That group, which is meddling in the all-party primary in California’s 40th District, registered with the FEC on April 24. This organization is untraceable and lists its address as an Austin, Texas, mailing center.
Lead Left’s mail firm, Piruzi LLC, and Four Ponies Consulting were both registered in Wyoming by Paracorp Incorporated, which has registered tens of thousands of companies nationwide.
These groups will have to disclose their donors eventually, but they can hide those donors by transferring money from a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. This is next-level obfuscation.
“We don’t know who’s speaking, we don’t know what their real motivations are, and the things that they do talk about may be completely different from why they’re involved,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said. “It really degrades public discourse and just creates paranoia and uncertainty.”
The Texas Play. Lead Left PAC drew widespread scrutiny when it began airing ads in Texas’ 35th District to prop up Democrat Maureen Galindo. Galindo is in a primary runoff with the DCCC-backed Johnny Garcia. Galindo has raised little money and has aired none of her own TV ads.
Galindo has a prolific and inflammatory online presence. Galindo said on Instagram that she wished to turn ICE detention centers “into a prison for American Zionists” and “a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists.”
Yet Lead Left PAC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Galindo’s behalf ahead of Tuesday’s primary runoff. Democrats are accusing Republicans of orchestrating the effort.
“You have an openly bigoted person who has no business in elected office getting boosted by a Republican PAC,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said. “So the Republican leadership here, of course, is going to go to great lengths to hide that.”
The district is a Trump +10, and Galindo would certainly be a weaker opponent for the GOP in November than Garcia.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP super PAC aligned with House Republican leaders, has declined to say if it’s behind Lead Left PAC.
Nebraska’s 2nd District. Lead Left PAC spent $435,000 on ads yoking state Sen. John Cavanaugh to President Donald Trump to tank Cavanaugh with Democratic voters and elevate his primary opponent, Denise Powell.
Democrats and Republicans were genuinely split on whether Cavanaugh or Powell would be stronger in a general election for this seat, which is currently held by retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon. Powell ultimately prevailed in the Democratic primary.
Pennsylvania’s 7th District. Lead Left PAC spent $1.7 million in the Democratic primary on mailers and ads boosting Lamont McClure, an underfunded former county executive. The ads went negative on frontrunners Bob Brooks and Ryan Crosswell.
Brooks, who is endorsed by the DCCC and Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, won by 20 points. Brooks will face Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) in this key 7th District race in November.
New Jersey’s 7th District. Real Change PAC is spending roughly $575,000 on mailers and ads, accusing Democrat Rebecca Bennett of investing with ICE contractors. One digital spot praises Bennett’s opponents, Tina Shah and Brian Varela, for being willing to abolish ICE.
Several top Democrats believe Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, would be the strongest to take on Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) in November. Varela raised just $100,000 last quarter.
The primary is June 2.
– Ally Mutnick
Join us on Tuesday, June 9, at 8:30 a.m. ET for a conversation with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). We’ll sit down with Scott to discuss the news of the day and the increasing competition in generic and biosimilar drug development. Afterward, David Marin, president and CEO of PCMA, will join us for a fireside chat. RSVP now!
ELECTION NIGHT
Cornyn, Paxton brawl reaches finish line
A months-long brawl for Texas’ GOP Senate nomination will finally come to a close with today’s primary runoff between Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Paxton has solidified the attorney general as the heavy favorite on Tuesday. Paxton already had structural advantages from a likely low-turnout runoff.
Whoever wins will have to quickly pivot to the general election. Remember that the NRSC and the Senate Leadership Fund spent months and tens of millions of dollars attacking Paxton. Now he’s on the verge of officially becoming their nominee.
Beyond the super high-profile Senate race, there are other primaries to watch tonight in the Lone Star State.
The incumbents in trouble. There’s a member-on-member clash in Texas’ 18th District Democratic primary runoff between longtime Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) and freshman Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas).
The two Democrats are running in the same Houston-area seat after Republicans redrew Texas’ House lines. Menefee is making the case for generational change, while Green says his seniority is vital for the district. In March, Menefee outran Green 46% to 44%.
In Texas’ 33rd District, former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is trying to make a comeback and knock off Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). Allred outpaced Johnson in the March primary by 11 points.
The other House runoffs. In the new 35th District, both parties have primary runoffs.
For Democrats, the matchup is Maureen Galindo vs. Johnny Garcia. On the GOP side, state Rep. John Lujan faces veteran Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of Texas GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz. Trump has endorsed De La Cruz.
In the new 9th District, state Rep. Briscoe Cain faces Army veteran Alex Mealer. Trump has backed Mealer, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is backing Cain. This deep-red seat is based in the greater Houston area.
In the open 19th District, former USDA official Tom Sell faces activist Abraham Enriquez in the GOP primary runoff to replace retiring Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas).
– Ally Mutnick and Max Cohen
PRESENTED BY TECHNET
When policymakers are grappling with today’s most transformative new technologies, they turn to TechNet.
WASHINGTON X THE WORLD
US forces hit Iran as peace talks continue
U.S. forces struck sites in southern Iran on Monday night, while Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned Gulf states that they will no longer be a safe haven for American bases.
Israeli forces are also stepping up their attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, further complicating the U.S.-Iranian talks.
With progress apparently being made in the opening round of discussions, President Donald Trump on Monday pressed leading Arab nations to join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 agreement that formalized relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
Other countries have since signed the accords, including Morocco, Sudan and Kazakhstan. But Trump wants to make it “mandatory” for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Jordan to sign on if they want to be part of any peace deal with Iran.
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” Trump said Monday on Truth Social.
“It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this [Iran] Deal in that it shows bad intention,” Trump added.
On Iran, Trump said that “negotiations are proceeding nicely,” yet cautioned that U.S. officials won’t sign onto any agreement that falls short of American objectives.
“It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!” Trump stated.
Hill angst. Senate Republicans are warning they will oppose any agreement that doesn’t fully rein in Iran’s nuclear program or simply restores the pre-war status quo. GOP hawks believe that a failure to do so in conjunction with other elements of the emerging agreement — reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting some U.S. sanctions — would look too much like former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear accord with Iran.
At the time, every GOP senator voted against that agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also strongly opposed the Obama nuclear deal.
As we reported on Sunday, the White House is trying to pre-spin a potential agreement, asking GOP lawmakers over the weekend to tweet in support of the administration’s efforts.
Yet the broader picture in the Middle East is looking increasingly fraught even before the renewed U.S. attacks on Iran. Israel began hitting what it said were Hezbollah military sites across Lebanon on Monday.
Netanyahu released a Hebrew-language video Monday saying that he told the Israeli Defense Forces to “press the pedal even harder” against Lebanon. Here’s Netanyahu:
Iran has been consistent in that it views the end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah as a key piece to any Iran agreement.
— John Bresnahan, Jake Sherman and Andrew Desiderio
PRESENTED BY TECHNET
Policymakers grappling with today’s most transformative technologies turn to TechNet.
THE HOUSE
DCCC: GOP reconciliation push is ‘political malpractice’
The DCCC released a memo on Tuesday arguing that House Republicans are committing “political malpractice” by pursuing a second reconciliation package focused on ICE and Border Patrol funding.
House Democrats are confident they can win control of the chamber in November. The DCCC claims the GOP agenda will only bolster Democratic electoral gains.
“When Congress returns in June, Republicans are scheming to push through an unchecked expansion of funding for lawless ICE agents and openly workshopping new cuts to spend billions on a war no one asked for,” the memo reads.
The DCCC memo also claims Republicans are “ignoring the needs of the American people and instead letting Trump have a blank check to do whatever he wants.”
The DCCC notes that recent New York Times-Siena polling shows President Donald Trump “at a second-term low on presidential approval.” We’ll note that the NRCC is continuing to stake its political future on Trump and the president’s voters.
— Max Cohen
📆
What we’re watching
House. The House has a pro forma session at 11 a.m.
Senate. The Senate has a pro forma session at 8 a.m.
Washington. President Donald Trump will be at Walter Reed Medical Center for his physical. He’ll also greet service members and staff there. Trump will also hold meetings in the afternoon and host a Rose Garden dinner at 7 p.m.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in India and Armenia today. Vice President JD Vance is hosting Republican attorneys general at the White House today to talk about fraud.
– Jake Sherman
AND THERE’S MORE
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is running an ad funded by taxpayer dollars that looks awfully like a campaign spot. The ad, airing in Nashville, features President Donald Trump calling Ogles a “warrior” and saying the lawmaker is “fighting alongside President Trump to secure the border, cut wasteful spending, lower taxes, and defend conservative values.”
Tennessee has a new congressional map for 2026. Ogles is running against former state Agriculture Department Commissioner Charlie Hatcher in the Aug. 6 primary. The Republican nominee would likely face Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder. The district, which runs from south of Nashville to Memphis, is an R+10, according to the Cook Political Report.
In Virginia. People Over Profits is running a new ad in Richmond boosting Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger was elected in November and is limited to one term. The spot says that Spanberger “stood up to big insurance’s tricky pricing scheme, and she is fighting to make sure Virginians actually pay less for prescriptions.”
Watch the ad here.
– Jake Sherman
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The 340B program lacks transparency—making it hard to tell if it’s actually helping vulnerable patients. HHS can fix the problem by implementing the 340B Rebate Model Pilot, ensuring the program is transparent, compliant, and accountable. Learn more.