ESAFund
| ESAFund | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Tampa, Florida[1] |
| Type: | Super PAC |
| Founder(s): | Joe Ricketts |
| Year founded: | 2010 |
| Website: | Official website |
The ESAFund, formerly known as the Ending Spending Action Fund, is a super PAC that was founded to support candidates who focus on balancing the nation's budget and reducing the size of the federal government. The group is affiliated with Ending Spending, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization aimed at educating the public about government spending and the national debt.[2][3]
Mission
As of July 2017, the website for the ESAFund listed the following statement about the organization's purpose:[4]
| “ | ESAFund (formerly Ending Spending Action Fund) is an independent organization that proudly supports candidates regardless of party affiliation who favor enhancing free enterprise, reducing the size of government, and balancing our nation's budget. We are also proud to strongly oppose those who do not.[5] | ” |
Background
The ESAFund was originally established as the Ending Spending Fund in 2010 by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. The group changed its name to the Ending Spending Action Fund in 2012 and became the ESAFund in 2015. The ESAFund is affiliated with Ending Spending, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization aimed at educating the public about government spending and the national debt.[1][3][6]
The ESAFund aims to support or oppose candidates based on their fiscal policy positions. Though the group states that it supports candidates "regardless of party affiliation," the ESAFund favors a conservative approach to fiscal policy with an emphasis on free enterprise, balanced budgets, and limited government.[2]
Work
| Super PACs |
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| Read more about super PACs and the super PACs covered on Ballotpedia. |
2016 elections
According to Open Secrets, the ESAFund supported or opposed the following 2016 candidates as of July 2016:[7]
| ESAFund's 2016 candidates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Office | State | Amount | Position |
| Kelly Ayotte |  |
U.S. Senate | N.H. | $2,418,434 | Supported |
| Joe Heck | |
U.S. Senate | Nev. | $1,940,621 | Supported |
| Jacky Rosen |  |
U.S. House | Nev. | $1,515,957 | Opposed |
| Evan Bayh | |
U.S. Senate | Ind. | $1,096,528 | Opposed |
| Charles Boustany Jr. | |
U.S. Senate | La. | $1,096,043 | Opposed |
| John Fleming | |
U.S. Senate | La. | $1,000,281 | Opposed |
| Bernie Sanders | |
President | -- | $804,319 | Opposed |
| Tim Huelskamp | |
U.S. House | Kan. | $773,081 | Opposed |
| Catherine Cortez Masto | |
U.S. Senate | Nev. | $759,564 | Opposed |
| Donald John Bacon | |
U.S. House | Neb. | $636,877 | Supported |
| Foster Campbell | |
U.S. Senate | La. | $577,767 | Opposed |
Bernie Sanders ad
The ESAFund spent $600,000 in January 2016 to produce and run a campaign ad in Iowa attacking former 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. “When it comes to federal spending and piling on our massive debt, Secretary Clinton is a five-car pile-up, but Senator Sanders is a trainwreck,” stated ESAFund's president, Brian Baker. “Given that Senator Sanders is the leading candidate in Iowa and New Hampshire and way ahead in the general election polls, ESAFund will work hard to inform voters about his record and future plans.”[6]
2014 elections
Supported candidates
The ESAFund supported the following 2014 candidates:[8]
Opposed candidates
The ESAFund opposed the following 2014 candidates:[8]
- Gary Peters (U.S. Senate-Mich.)
- Michelle Nunn (U.S. Senate-Ga.)
- Jeanne Shaheen (U.S. Senate-N.H.)
- Greg Orman (U.S. Senate-Kansas)
- Mary Landrieu (U.S. Senate-La.)
- Phil Gingrey (U.S. Senate-Ga.)
- Mark Udall (U.S. Senate-Colo.)
- Walter B. Jones (North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District)
- Peter DeFazio (Oregon's 4th Congressional District)
North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District
The ESAFund spent roughly $750,000 in the Republican primary for North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District. The group opposed incumbent Walter Jones and supported challenger Taylor Griffin, who was defeated. Brian Baker, the organization's president, said, "For us, it was an easy and obvious choice to oppose Mr. Jones. He has voted with President Obama more than any other Republican in the House of Representatives."[9][10]
2012 elections
According to the Sunlight Foundation, the ESAFund spent $13,250,796 during the 2012 elections. An analysis by Open Secrets found that 15.3 percent of the total funds achieved the desired result.[11][12][13][14]
Supported candidates
The ESAFund supported the following 2012 candidates:[15]
- Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan, (President)
- Deb Fischer (U.S. Senate-Neb.)
- Josh Mandel (U.S. Senate-Ohio)
- Jeff Flake (U.S. Senate-Ariz.)
- Ted Cruz (U.S. Senate-Texas)
- Connie Mack (U.S. Senate-Fla.)
- George Allen (Sen-VA)
- Richard Mourdock (U.S. Senate-Ind.)
- Tommy Thompson (U.S. Senate-Wis.)
- Dean Heller (U.S. Senate-Nev.)
Opposed candidates
The ESAFund opposed the following 2012 candidates:[16]
- Barack Obama (President)
- Bob Kerrey (U.S. Senate-Neb.)
- Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate-Ohio|)
- Richard Carmona (U.S. Senate-Ariz.)
- Tim Kaine (U.S. Senate-Va.)
- Jon Bruning (U.S. Senate-Neb.)
Expenditures
The ESAFund spent $13.2 million during the 2012 election cycle. Of the total funds, $6.67 million opposed Democrats, $6.45 million supported Republicans, and $124,181 opposed Republicans.[9]
| ESAFund's 2012 independent expenditures[9] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | For | Against | Desired Result |
| Barack Obama | |
N/A | President | $5,172,804 | $0 | $5,172,804 |  |
| Mitt Romney | |
N/A | President | $4,737,866 | $4,737,866 | $0 | |
| Deb Fischer | |
Neb. | Senate | $856,735 | $856,735 | $0 |  |
| Bob Kerrey | |
Neb. | Senate | $653,776 | $0 | $653,776 | |
| Josh Mandel | |
Ohio | Senate | $416,289 | $416,289 | $0 | |
| Sherrod Brown | |
Ohio | Senate | $402,680 | $0 | $402,680 | |
| Richard Carmona | |
Ariz. | Senate | $310,250 | $0 | $310,250 | |
| Jeff Flake | |
Ariz. | Senate | $275,572 | $275,572 | $0 | |
| Ted Cruz | |
Texas | Senate | $162,156 | $162,156 | $0 | |
| Tim Kaine | |
Va. | Senate | $134,950 | $0 | $134,950 | |
| Jon Bruning | |
Neb. | Senate | $124,181 | $0 | $124,181 | |
| Connie Mack | |
Fla. | Senate | $1,372 | $1,372 | $0 | |
| George Allen | |
Va. | Senate | $735 | $735 | $0 | |
| Richard Mourdock | |
Ind. | Senate | $662 | $662 | $0 | |
| Tommy Thompson | |
Wis. | Senate | $549 | $549 | $0 | |
| Dean Heller | |
Nev. | Senate | $189 | $189 | $0 | |
Finances
The following table identifies total federal receipts and disbursements for the ESAFund according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission:[1]
| Annual federal receipts and disbursements for the ESAFund, 2010-2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Total receipts | Total disbursements |
| 2016[17] | $13,702,880 | $14,973,924 |
| 2015[18] | $2,674,489 | $1,583,141 |
| 2014[19] | $24,015,113 | $23,767,069 |
| 2013[20] | $436,879 | $434,682 |
| 2012[21] | $14,169,830 | $14,170,950 |
| 2011[22] | $0 | $0 |
| 2010[23] | $1,180,672 | $1,178,690.53 |
Legal status
ESAFund 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.[24][25]
Noteworthy events
John Doe investigations
Two John Doe investigations, beginning in 2010 and ending in 2015, were launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) into the activities of staff and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R).[26] The Ending Spending Action Fund was one of 29 conservative organizations that were targeted during the course of the second of two John Doe investigations in Wisconsin related to Gov. Scott Walker (R).[27][28]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms ESAFund. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- ESAFund website
- ESAFund on Facebook
- Ending Spending website
- Ending Spending on Facebook
- Ending Spending on Twitter
- Federal Election Commission website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Election Commission, "Details for Committee ID : C00489856," accessed July 22, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ESAFund, "Home," accessed July 22, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ending Spending, "About," accessed July 23, 2016
- ↑ ESAFund, "ESAFund," accessed July 5, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New York Times, "Bernie Sanders a Target of Ads by Republican Donor," January 25, 2016
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Ending Spending Action Fund-Outside Spending Summary 2016," accessed July 23, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Open Secrets,"Ending Spending Action Fund-Outside Spending Summary 2014," accessed July 23, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Open Secrets, "Hot Races 2014: In N.C., Outside Groups Work to Oust Wayward GOP Incumbent", May 2, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "os" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ National Review, "North Carolina: The New Front in the GOP’s Foreign-Policy Civil War", April 10, 2014
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation, "Ending Spending Action Fund" accessed July 10, 2013
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation, "Outside spenders' return on investment," accessed July 11, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Ending Spending Action Fund," accessed July 10, 2013
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation, "Ending Spending Action Fund" accessed July 10, 2013
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation, "Independent Expenditure Summary" accessed July 10, 2013
- ↑ Sunlight Foundation, "Independent Expenditures 2012 Cycle" accessed July 10, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2016," January 31, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2015," January 31, 2016
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2014," January 30, 2015
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2013," January 31, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2012," May 28, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2011," January 7, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "ESAFund Year-End Report, 2010," January 19, 2011
- ↑ 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
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Milwaukee Division, "Eric O’Keefe, and Wisconsin Club for Growth, Inc.," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Watchdog, "Wall Street Journal: GAB targeted conservative justices in John Doe defense," September 17, 2015
- ↑ Eric O'Keefe v. Francis Schmitz, et al., "Complaint," accessed September 16, 2015
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