The mystery donors behind two super PACs that poured millions of dollars into the West Virginia Senate primary race were revealed in Federal Election Commission filings Sunday afternoon, pulling the curtain on the funding behind one of the most expensive Senate races of 2018.

The conservative Mountain Families PAC and liberal Duty and Country PAC, which combined spent more than $3 million in the West Virginia race, both used an FEC loophole to shield their respective donors before the May 8 election. None of those donors were from West Virginia, Sunday’s FEC filings showed, which was first reported by HuffPost on Monday morning.

Of that $3 million, the Duty and Country PAC spent more than $1.8 million attacking Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) and, to a lesser extent, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who won the Republican primary. Its list of a dozen donors included the Greater New York Hospital Association, Granite Telecommunications CEO Robert Hale Jr., billionaire hedge fund manager James H. Simmons and Chicago White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

The Duty and Country PAC shares a Washington, D.C. address with the Senate Majority PAC, POLITICO reported, a major liberal super PAC that spent more than $2.3 million backing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in the West Virginia Senate race. Manchin is widely seen as a vulnerable Democratic incumbent — he’s running in a historically red state that President Donald Trump won easily in 2016.

The Mountain Families PAC, which spent more than $1.3 million hammering Republican coal baron Don Blankenship, was backed by the Senate Leadership Fund, another conservative super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Trump called on voters to reject Blankenship in the lead up to election day. The last-minute spending on attack ads by the establishment super PAC appears to have been done in an effort to boost Jenkins and Morrisey, whom GOP leaders believe might fare better against Manchin in the general election.

To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State…No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018

Blankenship, who spent a year in prison after an explosion at one of his West Virginia coal mines killed 29 workers, openly feuded with McConnell during primary. The coal baron ran commercials that attacked McConnell’s family and called on West Virginians to “ditch ‘cocaine Mitch,’” in reference to a 2014 article in The Nation revealing the discovery of cocaine onboard a ship owned by the majority leader’s father-in-law.

The Duty and Country PAC didn’t spend money savaging Blankenship, instead directing its attacks at Jenkins and Morrisey, according to FEC filings. But the PAC’s treasurer, Booth Goodwin, is a former U.S. attorney who helped put Blankenship in prison during the mine disaster trial.

Blankenship announced his intention to make a third-party run on Monday, about two weeks after losing the primary.

FEC loophole shields donors

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Both super PACs were able to hide their out-of-state donors before the election by exploiting FEC reporting rules.

PACs that file FEC disclosures on a quarterly basis are required to submit a pre-primary report showing donation sources, but PACs that file monthly aren’t bound by that same requirement. The two West Virginia super PACs both registered on quarterly reporting schedules before the first reporting period ended in March but then switched to a monthly reporting schedule in April. The Mountain Families PAC didn’t disclose any donors on the first quarterly report, while the Duty and Country PAC only disclosed $150 in donations, according to FEC filings.

After switching schedules, the PACs’ monthly reports didn’t need to be filed until Sunday. That technicality allowed the PACs to shield their donors from voters before the election.

The same loophole used in West Virginia had previously been applied to hide the donors behind Highway 31, a liberal super PAC that attacked former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore during his 2017 Senate run, the Center for Public Integrity reported. Moore lost that special election to Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) after weeks of widely reported sexual misconduct allegations.

The Mountain Families PAC terminated itself soon after filing its monthly report Sunday afternoon.

How the PACs spent their money

The bulk of both PACs’ spending went toward attack ads against all three Republican candidates, according to FEC filings. Blankenship and Jenkins, who both lost the primary, were targeted the most.

The Duty and Country PAC directed almost the entirety of its spending hammering Jenkins in TV commercials, online ads and mailers. Of the PAC’s more than $1.8 million in total expenditures, just over 97 percent was spent opposing Jenkins.

One TV commercial accused Jenkins of profiting off an insurance company he pushed doctors to use while he was head of the West Virginia State Medical Association. Another ad attacked Morrisey for being out of touch with West Virginians.

All of the Mountain Families PAC’s more than $1.3 million in spending went toward attacking Blankenship in ads, according to FEC filings. TV commercials funded by the PAC accused the coal baron of contaminating drinking water while installing a piping system in his mansion, POLITICO reported.

In total, outside groups have spent more than $8.1 million on the West Virginia Senate race.



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