A former Romney aide has spent months in talks with Republican donors and operatives to gauge financial interest in an anti-Donald Trump campaign. | Getty Top former Romney aide launches anti-Trump super PAC

With less than two weeks until the Iowa caucuses, a new super PAC has formed with the intention of taking down Donald Trump.

The group, which is called Our Principles PAC, is founded by Katie Packer, a veteran Republican strategist who served as deputy campaign manager on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.


This week, the group sent out mailers to Iowa voters attacking Trump, who polls show is in a tight battle with Ted Cruz in the state, where caucuses are to be held on Feb. 1. In a filing with the Federal Election Commission, the group has reported spending nearly $45,000 on mailers.

Additionally, the super PAC has reserved more than $3,000 in spending on Iowa radio stations, according to a media buying source.

Packer has spent months in talks with Republican donors and operatives to gauge financial interest in an anti-Trump campaign.

In a brief interview on Thursday, Packer wouldn’t comment on the group’s plans other than to say: “Our Principles PAC has focused on conservative principles and ensuring that voters have the necessary information to make a wise decision on Election Day."

Packer declined to say whether she had spoken with Romney about the group. The 2012 GOP nominee has been privately expressing worry to former aides about Trump’s ongoing lead in the primary.

Another former Romney aide, Alex Castellanos, has also been pitching Republican donors on a prospective anti-Trump effort but it has yet to materialize.

With the start of primary voting just days away, much of the talk in establishment GOP circles about mounting a sustained anti-Trump campaign has dissipated. Castellanos, a veteran GOP ad man, recently said that it was “too late” for those concerned about Trump to begin a media campaign against him.

Many in the party’s establishment wing are convinced that a Trump nomination would damage the GOP’s prospects for winning the White House and imperil Republican candidates up and down the ballot. Some share similar concerns about Cruz, who is also waging an insurgent-style campaign.