NEA Advocacy Fund
| NEA Advocacy Fund | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | Super PAC |
| Top official: | Michael McPherson, Treasurer |
| Year founded: | 2010 |
| Super PACs |
|---|
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| Read more about super PACs and the super PACs covered on Ballotpedia. |
The NEA Advocacy Fund is a super PAC that was launched by the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest teachers union, in 2010. The group is headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1][2]
The NEA Advocacy Fund does not maintain a website, so information on the organization's mission and leadership is limited. Records show that the NEA is the super PAC's primary donor.[1][3]
Background
The NEA Advocacy Fund was established in 2010 as the super PAC affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). The group is also affiliated with the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education, a federal political action committee.[4] The organization makes independent expenditures to influence elections based on a candidate's stated education policies and how those policies align with those of the NEA.
Political activity
2016 elections
During the 2016 election cycle, the NEA Advocacy Fund spent a total of $4,809,168 in independent expenditures. Of the total, $384,726 supported Democrats and $4,399,802 opposed Republicans.[5]
The following table shows the top independent expenditures by the NEA Advocacy Fund during the 2016 cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
| NEA Advocacy Fund's largest 2016 independent expenditures | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | For | Against | |
| Todd Young | Ind. |  |
U.S. Senate | $1,655,858 | $0 | $1,655,858 | |
| Kelly Ayotte | N.H. | |
U.S. Senate | $1,568,165 | $0 | $1,568,165 | |
| Pat Toomey | Pa. | |
U.S. Senate | $700,823 | $0 | $700,823 | |
| Bruce Poliquin | Maine | |
U.S. House | $309,421 | $0 | $309,421 | |
| Hillary Clinton |  |
President | $196,265 | $196,265 | $0 | ||
| Thom Tillis | N.C. | |
U.S. Senate | $87,499 | $0 | $87,499 | |
| Katie McGinty | Pa. | |
U.S. Senate | $77,832 | $77,832 | $0 | |
| Dan Sullivan | Alaska | |
U.S. Senate | $50,241 | $0 | $50,241 | |
| Denise Juneau | Mont. | |
U.S. House | $46,324 | $46,324 | $0 | |
| Bruce Braley | Iowa | |
U.S. Senate | $36,040 | $36,040 | $0 | |
2014 elections
During the 2014 election cycle, the NEA Advocacy Fund spent a total of $5,798,883 in independent expenditures. Of the total, $821,137 supported Republicans and $4,977,746 opposed Republicans. The group primarily focused its spending on U.S. Senate races in North Carolina, Arkansas, and Alaska.[6][7]
The following table details the top independent expenditures for the NEA Advocacy Fund during the 2014 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
| NEA Advocacy Fund's largest 2014 independent expenditures | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | For | Against | |
| Thom Tillis | N.C. | |
U.S. Senate | $2,934,818 | $31,009 | $2,903,809 | |
| Tom Cotton | Ark. | |
U.S. Senate | $841,209 | $0 | $841,209 | |
| Dan Sullivan | Alaska | |
U.S. Senate | $727,690 | $727,690 | $0 | |
| Joni Ernst | Iowa | |
U.S. Senate | $559,356 | $0 | $559,356 | |
| Bruce Poliquin | Maine | |
U.S. House | $335,747 | $0 | $335,747 | |
| Cory Gardner | Colo. | |
U.S. Senate | $202,492 | $0 | $202,492 | |
| Steve Southerland | Fla. | |
U.S. House | $126,259 | $0 | $126,259 | |
| Lee Zeldin | N.Y. | |
U.S. House | $62,438 | $62,438 | $0 | |
| George Allen | Va. | |
U.S. Senate | $8,874 | $0 | $8,874 | |
2012 elections
During the 2012 election cycle, the NEA Advocacy Fund spent a total of $1,001,135 in independent expenditures. Of the total, $105,798 supported Democrats and $895,337 opposed Republicans. The following table identifies the group's five largest 2012 independent expenditures:[8]
| NEA Advocacy Fund's largest 2012 independent expenditures[8] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Office | Total | For | Against | |
| Richard Tisei | |
Massachusetts | House | $500,000 | $0 | $500,000 | |
| George Allen | |
Virginia | Senate | $172,666 | $0 | $172,666 | |
| Jeff Flake | |
Arizona | Senate | $116,873 | $10 | $116,873 | |
| Tammy Baldwin | |
Wisconsin | Senate | $105,798 | $105,798 | $0 | |
| Tommy Thompson | |
Wisconsin | Senate | $105,798 | $0 | $105,798 | |
Donors
The only donor to the NEA Advocacy Fund that gave more than $200 during the 2012 election cycle was the National Education Association, which contributed $9,279,150.[9]
2010 elections
During the 2010 election cycle, the NEA Advocacy Fund spent a total of $4.2 million in independent expenditures. Of the total, $1,000 was spent to support U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) The remaining funds were directed in opposition to Republican candidates.[10]
The following table identifies the group's targeted Republican candidates:[10]
| NEA Advocacy Fund's targeted 2010 independent expenditures[8] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | State | Chamber | Spending | Election result | ||
| Ken Buck |
|
Colorado | United States Senate | $1,897,000 | 
| ||
| Dino Rossi |
|
Washington | United States Senate | $1,402,000 |
| ||
| Pat Toomey |
|
Pennsylvania | United States Senate | $500,000 | 
| ||
| Rand Paul |
|
Kentucky | United States Senate | $400,000 |
| ||
Finances
The following table outlines the NEA Advocacy Fund's annual federal receipts and disbursements according to the Federal Election Commission:[1]
| Annual federal receipts and disbursements for the NEA Advocacy Fund, 2010-2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Total receipts | Total disbursements |
| 2016 | $16,013,457 | $16,326,880 |
| 2015 | $2,203,974.23 | $2,223,856.44 |
| 2014 | $16,504,776.12 | $19,638,054.57 |
| 2013 | $5,319,439.76 | $1,254,824.88 |
| 2012 | $8,800,000.00 | $9,055,131.04 |
| 2011 | $510,951.65 | $80,770.70 |
| 2010 | $4,900,000.00 | $4,900,000.00 |
Legal status
The NEA Advocacy Fund 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.[11][12]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms NEA Advocacy Fund. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- National Education Association homepage
- National Education Association on Facebook
- National Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education homepage
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Election Commission, "Details for Committee ID : C00489815," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Center for Public Integrity, "NEA Advocacy Fund," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Organizations Disclosing Donations to NEA Advocacy Fund, 2012," June 21, 2012
- ↑ NEA Fund for Children and Public Education, "Home," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Open Secrets, "NEA Advocacy Fund-Independent expenditures 2016," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ Open Secrets, "NEA Advocacy Fund-Independent expenditures 2014," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ FactCheck.org, "NEA Advocacy Fund," accessed July 28, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Open Secrets, "NEA Advocacy Fund Recipients, 2012," accessed July 16, 2013
- ↑ Open Secrets, "NEA Advocacy Fund Contributors," accessed July 16, 2013
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Open Secrets, "NEA Advocacy Fund Recipients, 2010," July 8, 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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