Conservative PACs spent about $1.3 million attacking Donald Trump in the fall—a pittance compared with the tens of millions they spent fruitlessly trying to keep Jeb Bush’s doomed presidential bid buoyant. Now that Trump has taken the lion’s share of delegates in almost every nomination contest and is leading in Florida polls going into Tuesday’s vote, establishment Republicans are frantically burning through money in an effort to reverse his momentum. The chart below, of the cumulative spending by political action committees to attack Trump over time, based on data from the Federal Election Commission, shows them blowing through $24 million since the Iowa caucus, with $12 million of that coming after Super Tuesday. (One caveat: PACs don’t technically need to report expenditures below $10,000 although many do to play it safe with confusing federal electioneering laws.)

PAC Spending Against Trump Over Time

Almost all of the money was spent by super PACs, which can accept limitless donations from virtually anyone and spend unlimited amounts on political advertising, as long as they do not coordinate with a campaign. Leading the anti-Trump charge is Our Principles PAC, founded by Republican strategist Katie Packer in January with the stated purpose of preventing Donald Trump from “hijacking our great Party” and assuring that nobody has stopped him yet because “no one has really tried.” It has spent about $9 million. Also taking out its knives: Club for Growth Action, a PAC that raises money from wealthy Republican donors and often supports Tea Party challengers, which has spent more than $6 million against Trump; Conservative Solutions PAC, run by Marco Rubio supporters, nearly $5 million; American Future Fund, a political nonprofit tied to the Koch brothers, about $4 million; anti-tax think tank Club for Growth, $2 million; and the pro-Cruz Stand for Truth, $1.6 million.

Top Anti-Trump PACs


