Analysis
Even before the results of the presidential election are tabulated, partisan actors are busy behind the scenes filing lawsuits seeking clarification about existing election rules and, in the most extreme cases, taking aim at the processes governing which ballots are counted and even how ballots are counted.
Much of this barrage of lawsuits is coming from groups aligned with former President Donald Trump, including the Republican National Committee (RNC), which is already active in more than 130 cases — though critics say many of these lawsuits are based on “unreliable data” and “shoddy methodology.”
One RNC-litigated case has challenged the validity of ballots that are mailed before Election Day but arrive with election officials in the days after, something that is currently allowed in 18 states plus Washington, D.C. Others have challenged the validity of ballots from overseas voters who are U.S. citizens. While still others have charged that election officials haven’t taken aggressive enough actions to ensure that noncitizens do not illegally cast votes in this year’s election.
For the past decade, both the RNC and its Democratic Party counterpart — the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — have been allowed to collect large contributions from donors earmarked to support the parties’ election-related legal fights. But this year, the RNC appears to be more aggressively courting donors to support its legal battles.
A new Issue One review of federal campaign finance data shows the RNC’s legal fund has raised nearly four times as much money as the DNC’s legal fund — $54 million versus $14 million through Oct. 16, the date of the most recent campaign finance reports.
In fact, the RNC legal fund sums are up $37 million (or more than 200%) compared to 2020, and up about $51 million (or about 1,700%) compared to 2016. And while the DNC’s legal fund sums are up about $12 million (or about 600%) from 2016, they are actually roughly the same as 2020.
Who’s underwriting these efforts? Issue One’s analysis shows that ultra-wealthy Americans, including at least 50 billionaires, are among those helping fund the parties’ legal battles, including more than three dozen billionaires who have given to the RNC’s efforts and a dozen who have supported the DNC’s.
“It’s alarming that our broken campaign finance system allows wealthy Americans and special interests to ingratiate themselves with political leaders while funding lawsuits that erode people’s confidence in the integrity of our elections,” said Issue One founder and CEO Nick Penniman. “When billionaires bankroll an avalanche of lawsuits designed to question the integrity of our elections, they aren’t just pouring money into politics, they’re chipping away at the very foundation of democracy.”
Penniman continued: “Much of the relentless flood of litigation is aimed at undermining confidence in the system for political gains, sowing seeds of distrust that could take years to repair. We should be fostering a unified commitment to fair, transparent elections — not allowing big money to fuel division and doubt. America’s future depends on putting the American people above politics.”
This year alone, more than 200 wealthy Americans have given the legal maximum of $123,900 to the RNC’s legal fund, according to an Issue One analysis of federal campaign finance data.
This includes 13 people who gave the legal maximum in both 2023 and 2024, for a total of $247,800 over two years.
These 13 megadonors are:
Other notable donors who have, since January 2023, given at least $123,900 — i.e., the equivalent of the legal maximum contribution in a single year — include:
Additionally, at least six of Trump’s former ambassadors have also donated at least $123,900 since January 2023 to the RNC’s legal fund, including:
The RNC’s legal fund has also received contributions from the leadership PACs of a dozen GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and JD Vance (R-OH), who is now Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
Of these PACs, Rick Scott’s gave the most, at $90,000. Vance’s gave $30,000. The others each gave $45,000.
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has contributed $2.7 million to the RNC’s legal fund since January 2023, including $1 million last month, and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has contributed $6 million since January 2023, including nearly $2.3 million since the start of September.
This year, only about 30 individuals have given the legal maximum to the DNC’s legal fund, according to Issue One’s analysis of federal campaign finance data.
And unlike the RNC’s legal fund, the DNC’s legal fund does not have any donors who have given the legal maximum in both 2023 and 2024, despite the fact that a dozen billionaires have contributed since January 2023.
Some of the notable donors who have, since January 2023, given at least $123,900 — i.e., the equivalent of the legal maximum contribution in a single year — are:
The DNC’s legal fund also counts among its donors the PACs of several labor unions, including AFSCME, the American Federation of Teachers, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Auto Workers, and the United Steelworkers.
The sole Democratic lawmaker whose leadership PAC has earmarked money to the DNC’s legal fund is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whose PAC has given $45,000.
Issues: Election Protection, Megadonors, Money in Politics
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