Politics

Lincoln Project reportedly spent $10M+ on failed bid to oust GOP senators

WASHINGTON — The embattled Lincoln Project spent more than $10 million on their unsuccessful bid to unseat Republicans up for re-election in the Senate last year, according to a new report.

A review of the group’s FEC 2020 financial records by Fox News shows the anti-Trump PAC spent a large amount of the money it raised on more than 10 Senate races where their preferred candidates lost by huge margins.

According to the report, the Lincoln Project spent $4.3 million trying to unseat Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, who went on to win by 12 points.

The group’s founders also dropped $2.4 million in South Carolina where Sen. Lindsey Graham thumped Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison by double-digits.

They splurged another $2.7 million in Montana trying to unseat GOP Sen. Steve Daines who beat Democrats Steve Bullock by 10 points, and nearly $1.7 million against Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

The group founded by well-known GOP strategists shot to stardom during the 2020 election with their splashy Trump attack ads which went on to raise more than $90 million.

But the Lincoln Project imploded last month when dozens of men came forward with sexual harassment allegations against co-founder and former John McCain advisor, John Weaver.

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John Weaver
John Weaver, a Lincoln Project co-founder who has been accused of sexual harassment.AP
Steve Schimidt, a Lincoln Project co-founder who has stepped away from the organization amid Weaver's scandal.
Steve Schimidt, a Lincoln Project co-founder who has stepped away from the organization amid Weaver’s scandal.Getty Images
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Several other co-founders, including Steve Schmidt, have quit in the wake of the scandal as evidence mounts that they knew about the allegations against Weaver as early as last June.

The group’s decision to wade into key Senate races angered many Republicans, including Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn.

“This cabal of political consultants is all in it for the money,” Cornyn wrote in a July 2020 tweet.

“If they actually cared about the country, they wouldn’t be working to advance the socialist, anarchist agenda of the radical left. Pathetic.”