Koch brothers' umbrella group raised nearly $147 million last year

Fredreka Schouten | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The political network overseen by billionaire Charles Koch took in nearly $147 million last year as it worked to help Republicans successfully retain their grip on the U.S. Senate and control of statehouses around the country, newly released tax returns show.

The tax filings by the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the group at the center of Koch’s political activity, show Freedom Partners doled out a little more than half of its 2016 haul to 13 groups largely aligned with the free-market ideas espoused by Charles Koch and his brother David Koch.

The Koch brothers oversee Koch Industries, a Kansas-based industrial conglomerate with interests in everything from oil pipelines and iPhone components to Brawny paper towels and Lycra gym wear, and they are among the country's richest men and biggest players in Republican politics. The new information about their 2016 political spending comes as Koch Industries' private-equity arm, moves to put up $650 million to help media company Meredith Corp. buy Time Inc., which publishes Time magazine.

Some media analysts question whether the Kochs' conservative views will influence editorial content at Time or other titles owned by the company. Koch spokesman Steve Lombardo this week cast the deal as a "passive investment" that does not give the Kochs a seat on the board or a management role.

More: Koch brothers firm's investment in 'Time' raises questions of editorial independence

More: 'God gave us one more chance' with Trump, Koch donor says

The tax filings, posted on Freedom Partners' website, show the group channeled $48.7 million last year to its largest grassroots arm, Americans for Prosperity or AFP. AFP has chapters in 36 states and now is helping lead the network's push to urge Congress to pass a sweeping rewrite of the tax code before year's end.

Big sums also went to other groups in the network, including its veteran-focused arm, Concerned Veterans for America ($12.6 million), its Hispanic outreach group, Libre Initiative ($7.6 million) and a group targeting millennials, Generation Opportunity ($4.6 million).

Freedom Partners operates as a non-profit business association and does not publicly disclose the identities of its donors. The Kochs and hundreds of like-minded supporters gather regularly at “seminars” to discuss their policy and political goals and collect "dues" to advance their mission.

The tax return underscores the political might of Kochs, who held their first seminar in 2003, and have built a privately run policy and political network that rivals the Republican Party's fundraising and organizational strength. A Freedom Partners-backed data company, called i360, maintains profiles of some 190 million voters, information it shares with network groups and sells to political candidates.

Freedom Partners’ revenue in 2016 exceeds the $139 million it raised the previous year. The network is on pace to spend even more — nearly $400 million — on national and state politics and policy during the two-year, 2017-2018 cycle, officials say.

By comparison, the Republican National Committee spent a total of $323 million in the 2016 election cycle.

The new filings also offer a snapshot of the Kochs' behind-the-scenes financing of other groups working to influence policy and politics at the state level.

For instance, Freedom Partners gave a $500,000 grant last year to WMC Issues Mobilization Council, an arm of Wisconsin’s largest business lobby. Another $450,000 went to the Coalition for a Stronger West Virginia, which has backed tax cuts and reducing regulations in the state.