Campaign for Primary Accountability
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| Campaign for Primary Accountability | |
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| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Houston, Texas |
| Type: | Super PAC |
| Founder(s): | Leo Linbeck III and Eric O'Keefe |
| Year founded: | 2011 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Campaign for Primary Accountability is a super PAC formed in September 2011 with the aim of providing voters with more information regarding candidates in primary elections.[1] The organization believes that voters "must challenge long-term incumbents and hold them accountable for their deeds."[2]
The group made independent expenditures in 12 U.S. House primaries, all during the 2012 campaign cycle. It targeted seven Republican-held seats and five Democratic-held seats. Four incumbents the group opposed in those races lost their seats. All four were among the eight races—six in Republican-held seats and two in Democratic-held seats—where the group spent against an incumbent without spending in support of any one challenger.
The group was unsuccessful in three other primaries. Two were Democratic primaries where Campaign for Primary Accountability spent both to oppose the incumbent and to back a specific challenger. The third was a Republican primary where the incumbent did not seek re-election. In the twelfth primary, CPA spent money both to support and to oppose incumbent Charles Rangel (D), who won re-election. All 12 winners of CPA-involved primaries went on to win in the November 2012 general elections.
Campaign for Primary Accountability did not support or oppose any candidates in the 2014, 2016, or 2018 elections.
Mission
As of March 2019, the Campaign for Primary Accountability's website listed the following mission statement:[3]
| “ | CPA’s mission is to foster greater participation in primary elections as a way to “Break the Cycle of Incumbency” in Congress. Our goal is to bring true competition to our electoral process, to give voters real information about their choices, and to restore fair, not fixed, elections. The Campaign for Primary Accountability encourages challengers so more voters will have a real choice in multi-candidate primary elections.
We want a Congress that answers to the people on Main Street rather than the lobbyists on K Street. In order to change Congress, more people need to get involved in primaries.[4] |
” |
Background
In 2012, Campaign for Primary Accountability spokesman Curtis Ellis explained the organization's approach, saying, "CPA does not fit the traditional Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative paradigm. It is a trans-partisan organization that encourages greater participation in primaries by voters in both parties in order to break the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed Washington."[5]
The official website of the CPA pointed to polls and election results from November 2010 as the impetus for its campaign. According to the CPA, more than 80 percent of all districts are controlled by one major party, informing their belief that the primary election is the only place to defeat an incumbent.[6]
Eric O'Keefe and Leo Linbeck III founded the organization.[5] In a 2012 opinion piece for The Washington Post, Linbeck spoke of the group's perspective, saying, "We’re trying to make the electoral system competitive, so that Congress will become more accountable to the voters. It’s not about policy, it’s about governance. We’re not interested in shifting power between Republicans and Democrats. We’re interested in shifting power between Congress and the people."[7]
Work
The Campaign for Primary Accountability made expenditures in 12 U.S. House races in 2012, including seven Republican-held seats and five Democratic-held seats. Four of the incumbents it opposed lost their primaries: Democrats Tim Holden and Silvestre Reyes and Republicans Don Manzullo and Jean Schmidt. It did not make independent expenditures in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 campaign cycles.
2018
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the CPA did not make any independent expenditures during the 2016 election cycle.[8]
2016
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the CPA did not make any independent expenditures during the 2016 election cycle.[9]
2014
In July 2013, Campaign for Primary Accountability had targeted two incumbents in the 2014 election cycle, according to the group's website. The candidates were Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) and Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).[10] According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the group did not make any independent expenditures during the 2014 cycle.[11]
2012
| Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler discusses the Campaign For Primary Accountability on MSNBC |
During the 2012 election cycle, Campaign for Primary Accountability targeted 12 incumbents, including seven Republicans and five Democrats. The organization used four factors when deciding whether to become involved in a district.[12]
- Is the district controlled by one party (in other words, the group was not active in swing districts)?
- Is there a capable challenger?
- Has the incumbent served at least two terms (in other words, no freshmen)?
- Does private polling show a challenger could win?
In an interview with MSNBC, Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, said the Campaign for Primary Accountability's goal was to defeat 100 incumbents—50 Democrats and 50 Republicans—in primary elections that year.[13]
Independent expenditures
The organization made independent expenditures in the following races during the 2012 election cycle.[14]
Expenditures
In the 2012 elections the Campaign for Primary Accountability spent $1,816,476: $203,390 for Democrats, $522,176 against Democrats, $121,001 for Republicans, and $969,909 against Republicans. [11]
| Top 10 largest Campaign for Primary Accountability expenditures in 2012[11] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | For | Against | Desired Result |
| Silvestre Reyes |  |
TX | House | $240,000 | $0 | $240,000 |  |
| Don Manzullo |  |
IL | House | $224,529 | $0 | $224,529 | |
| Spencer Bachus | |
AL | House | $203,106 | $0 | $203,106 |  |
| Ralph Hall | |
TX | House | $203,106 | $0 | $203,106 | |
| Jean Schmidt | |
OH | House | $132,022 | $0 | $132,022 | |
| Dennis Kucinich | |
OH | House | $131,880 | $131,880 | $0 | |
| Tim Holden | |
PA | House | $130,875 | $0 | $130,875 | |
| Jo Bonner | |
AL | House | $123,676 | $0 | $123,676 | |
| Marcy Kaptur | |
OH | House | $121,294 | $0 | $121,294 | |
| David McIntosh | |
IN | House | $121,001 | $121,001 | $0 | |
Finances
The following table identifies total receipts and disbursements for the Campaign for Primary Accountability, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission:
| Annual federal receipts and disbursements for the Campaign for Primary Accountability, 2011-2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax year | Total receipts | Total disbursements |
| 2018[22] | $0 | $0 |
| 2017[23] | $0 | $0 |
| 2016[24] | $0 | $0 |
| 2015[25] | $0 | $0 |
| 2014[26] | $5,539 | $7,320 |
| 2013[27] | $36,166 | $54,045 |
| 2012[28] | $1,817,889 | $3,096,789 |
| 2011[29] | $1,796,752 | $123,565 |
Legal status
The Campaign for Primary Accountability is a super PAC. A super PAC is a political committee that can solicit and spend unlimited sums of money. A super PAC cannot contribute directly to a politician or political party, but it can spend independently to campaign for or against political figures. These committees are also called independent expenditure-only committees. A super PAC is not legally considered a political action committee (PAC) and as such is regulated under separate rules.[30][31]
Media
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Campaign + for + Primary + Accountability"
- All stories may not be relevant to this organization due to the nature of the search engine.
External links
- Campaign for Primary Accountability website, archived January 2017
- Campaign for Primary Accountability on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedabout - ↑ Campaign for Primary Accountability, "Facebook Page," accessed February 2, 2012
- ↑ Campaign for Primary Accountability, "FAQ," accessed March 15, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cincinnati Enquirer, "Super-PAC targets 'out of step' Schmidt," January 29, 2012
- ↑ Campaign for Primary Accountability, "The Issue," archived November 24, 2016
- ↑ Washington Post, "One super PAC takes aim at incumbents of any party," March 7, 2012
- ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Independent Expenditures, Communication Costs, and Coordinated Expenses, 2018," accessed March 15, 2019
- ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Independent Expenditures, Communication Costs and Coordinated Expenses, 2016," accessed July 5, 2017
- ↑ Campaign for Primary Accountability, "Highlighted Races," accessed July 17, 2013
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Center for Responsive Politics, "2014 PAC Summary Data," accessed July 25, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "os" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Mother Jones, "This Texas "Anarchist" GOPer Is Taking Out Incumbents," March 8, 2012
- ↑ MSNBC "Deylan Ratigan Show," accessed July 25, 2016
- ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Campaign for Primary Accountability, Independent Expenditures, Communication Costs and Coordinated Expenses, 2011-2012," accessed March 15, 2019
- ↑ Was CPA's spending in the race reported to the FEC as intended to support the incumbent or oppose them?
- ↑ CPA reported spending $22,808 to oppose Jackson and $66,510 to support Halvorson.
- ↑ At the time of the election, Kucinich had been a member of Congress since 1997. He and Kaptur ran against one another after redistricting following the 2010 census moved him into the Ninth District.
- ↑ CPA reported spending $121,294 to oppose Kaptur and $131,880 to support Kucinich.
- ↑ At the time of the election, Kinzinger had been a member of Congress since 2011. He and Manzullo ran against one another after redistricting following the 2010 census moved him into the Sixteenth District.
- ↑ At the time of the election, Rangel had served in Congress since 1971, most recently in the Fifteenth District. Redistricting following the 2010 census moved Rangel into the Thirteenth District and former Thirteenth District Rep. Michael Grimm (R) into the Eleventh District.
- ↑ CPA reported spending $5,000 to support Rangel and $7,199 to oppose him.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2018," February 1, 2019
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2017," January 20, 2018
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2016," January 31, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2015," January 31, 2016
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2014," January 30, 2015
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2013," January 31, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2012," January 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign for Primary Accountability Year-End Report, 2011," February 14, 2012
- ↑ The Atlantic, "The New York Times' Disingenuous Campaign Against Citizens United," February 24, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Who's Financing the 'Super PACs?" May 7, 2012
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