Senate Conservatives Fund

Basic facts
Location:| Alexandria, Va.
Type:| PAC
Founder(s):| Jim DeMint
Year founded:| 2008
Website:| Official website

Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) is a political action committee (PAC). As a PAC, the group can spend money on elections, but is not run by a party or individual candidate. On its website, the SCF states that its goal is to support candidates who prioritize limiting the size of the federal government.[1]

The organization makes endorsements in races for the U.S. Senate as well as the U.S. House and can donate money to parties or candidates it supports.

## Contents

* 1 Mission
* 2 Background
* 3 Work
* 3.1 2018 elections
* 3.1.1 Endorsements
* 3.2 2017 elections
* 3.3 2016 elections
* 3.3.1 Endorsements
* 3.3.2 Expenditures
* 3.4 2014 elections
* 3.4.1 Endorsements
* 3.4.2 Targeted candidates
* 3.4.3 House conservatives project
* 3.4.4 Expenditures
* 3.4.5 Campaign advertisements
* 3.5 2012 elections
* 3.5.1 Endorsements
* 3.5.2 Expenditures
* 4 Leadership
* 5 Finances
* 6 Legal status
* 7 Recent news
* 8 External links
* 9 Footnotes

## Mission[edit]

As of July 2017, the website for the SCF listed the following mission statement for the organization:[2]

“  | SCF is a national grassroots organization that seeks to bring bold conservative leadership to Washington by supporting candidates who will fight for the timeless conservative principles of limited government, strong national defense, and traditional family values.[3] | ”

|
|

## Background[edit]

SCF was founded by former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) in 2008.[4] The organization initially worked to put conservative lawmakers into seats held by Democrats. In 2012, the SCF moved to also challenge Republican incumbents.[5] In 2014, Politico reported that the organization was "instrumental in pressuring conservative lawmakers to take the hard-line strategy demanding a defunding of Obamacare, even though it led to the government shutdown last October."[6]

## Work[edit]

### 2018 elections[edit]

In July 2017, after the Senate could not ensure enough votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act or begin debate on the Republican replacement, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, the SCF announced its intent to challenge Republican senators who did not support the repeal. In a statement, the group said, "Working with the grassroots across the country, we will seek to identify, recruit, and fund conservative challengers against Republican senators who vote against repeal."[7]

#### Endorsements[edit]

As of July 2017, the SCF had endorsed the following candidates for 2018 congressional elections:Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
U.S. Senate

* Josh Mandel (R-Ohio)
* Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

### 2017 elections[edit]

The SCF endorsed the following candidates for 2017 congressional elections:[8]
U.S. House

* Ralph Norman (R-S.C.)
* d Christopher Herrod (R-Utah)

### 2016 elections[edit]

#### Endorsements[edit]

According to its website, the SCF endorsed the following candidates for 2016 congressional elections:[9]
U.S. Senate

* Mike Lee (R-Utah)
* d Darryl Glenn (R-Colo.)
* d John Fleming (R-La.)

U.S. House

* Jim Banks (R-Ind.)
* Warren Davidson (R-Ohio)
* Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.)
* Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
* Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
* Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)
* Rod Blum (R-Iowa)
* d Scott Garrett (R-N.J.)
* Tom Garrett (R-Va.)
* Mike Johnson (R-La.)

#### Expenditures[edit]

In the 2016 elections the SCF spent a grand total of $942,105 in independent expenditures: $937,105 for Republicans and $5,000 against Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. [10]

Top 10 largest Senate Conservatives Fund expenditures in 2016

Candidate  | State  | Party  | Office  | Total  | For  | Against
Darryl Glenn | Colo. |  | U.S. Senate | $321,678 | $321,678 | $0
Mike Lee | Utah |  | U.S. Senate | $166,743 | $166,743 | $0
Marlin Stutzman | Ind. |  | U.S. Senate | $111,178 | $111,178 | $0
Ron DeSantis | Fla. |  | U.S. House | $104,438 | $104,438 | $0
Jim Banks | Ind. |  | U.S. House | $55,260 | $55,260 | $0
Mary Thomas | Fla. |  | U.S. House | $44,907 | $44,907 | $0.00
Josh Mandel | Ohio |  | U.S. Senate | $24,323 | $24,323 | $0
Warren Davidson | Ohio |  | U.S. House | $20,693 | $20,693 | $0
Mike Johnson | La. |  | U.S. House | $14,665 | $14,665 | $0
James Bridenstine | Okla. |  | U.S. House | $11,254 | $11,254 | $0

### 2014 elections[edit]

#### Endorsements[edit]

* d Chris McDaniel (Miss.): McDaniel ran against Sen. Thad Cochran in the Republican primary for the seat. [11]
* d Matt Bevin (Ky.): Bevin challenged Sen. Mitch McConnell in the Kentucky Republican primary election.[11]
* Ben Sasse (Neb.): Sasse ran for the open U.S. Senate seat, which was held by retiring Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.).[11]
* d Milton Wolf (Kan.)[11]
* d Rob Maness (La.): Maness ran against Bill Cassidy in the Republican primary.[12]
* Joni Ernst (Iowa)[13]
* Tom Cotton (Ark.)[13]

#### Targeted candidates[edit]

See also: United States Senate special election in Oklahoma, 2014

The Senate Conservatives Fund announced on January 20, 2014, that it would not back James Lankford in the special election to replace retiring Sen. Tom Coburn.[14]

In a statement, executive director Matt Hoskins said, “We won’t support Congressman Lankford’s bid for the Senate because of his past votes to increase the debt limit, raise taxes, and fund Obamacare. We have reviewed his record and it’s clear that conservatives cannot count on him to fight for their principles.”[14]

#### House conservatives project[edit]

In 2013, Senate Conservatives Fund created an initiative to support conservative House members in order to "advance conservative policies in the House and potentially run for the U.S. Senate in the future." As a part of this project, the group endorsed the following candidates in the 2014 election cycle:

* Jim Bridenstine (Okla.)[11]
* Dave Brat (Va.)[13]
* Barry Loudermilk (Ga.)[13]
* Alex Mooney (W.Va.)[13]
* John Ratcliffe (Texas)[13]
* d Zach Dasher (La.)[13]

#### Expenditures[edit]

In the 2014 elections the SCF spent a grand total of $3,573,240 in independent expenditures: $80,026 against Democrats, $3,471,714 for Republicans, and $21,500 against Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. [15]

Top 10 largest Senate Conservatives Fund expenditures in 2014

Candidate  | State  | Party  | Office  | Total  | For  | Against
Ben Sasse | Neb. |  | U.S. Senate | $838,297 | $838,297 | $0
Rob Maness | La. |  | U.S. Senate | $460,112 | $460,112 | $0
Matt Bevin | Ky. |  | U.S. Senate | $458,870 | $458,870 | $0
Joni Ernst | Iowa |  | U.S. Senate | $361,012 | $361,012 | $0
T.W. Shannon | Okla. |  | U.S. Senate | $359,864 | $359,864 | $0
Chris McDaniel | Miss. |  | U.S. Senate | $274,758 | $274,758 | $0.00
Alex Mooney | W.Va. |  | U.S. House | $161,209 | $161,209 | $0
Tom Cotton | Ark. |  | U.S. Senate | $160,770 | $160,770 | $0
Milton Wolf | Kan. |  | U.S. Senate | $118,361 | $118,361 | $0
Mark Pryor | Ark. |  | U.S. Senate | $75,126 | $0 | $75,126

#### Campaign advertisements[edit]

Senate Conservatives Fund: Nothing

Senate Conservatives Fund: Rightful Heirs

### 2012 elections[edit]

#### Endorsements[edit]

Senate Conservatives Fund endorsed the following candidates in the 2012 elections:[16]

* Deb Fischer (Neb.-Sen)
* d George Allen (Va.-Sen)
* d Tom Smith (Pa.-Sen)
* d Dan Bongino (Md.-Sen)
* d Richard Mourdock (Ind.-Sen)
* Ted Cruz (Texas-Sen)
* d Todd Akin (Mo.-Sen)
* d Josh Mandel (Ohio-Sen)

#### Expenditures[edit]

In the 2012 elections the SCF spent a grand total of $3,546,738 in independent expenditures: $20,000 against Democrats and $3,529,869 for Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. [16]

Top 10 largest Senate Conservatives Fund expenditures in 2012[16]

Candidate  | Party  | State  | Office  | Total  | For  | Against
Don Stenberg |  | NE | Senate | $996,246 | $996,246 | $0
Ted Cruz |  | TX | Senate | $985,381 | $985,381 | $0
Josh Mandel |  | OH | Senate | $303,462 | $303,462 | $0
Richard Mourdock |  | IN | Senate | $216,280 | $216,280 | $0
Jeff Flake |  | AZ | Senate | $201,840 | $201,840 | $0
George Allen |  | VA | Senate | $163,775 | $163,775 | $0
Tom Smith |  | PA | Senate | $163,186 | $163,186 | $0
Deb Fischer |  | NE | Senate | $159,515 | $159,515 | $0
Dan Bongino |  | MD | Senate | $155,131 | $155,131 | $0
Todd Akin |  | MO | Senate | $121,346 | $121,346 | $0

## Leadership[edit]

As of July 2017, the website for the SCF listed the following individuals as the organization's leadership:[2]

* Ken Cuccinelli, President
* Mary Vought, Communications advisor
* Kristin Szafranski, Director of operations
* Tom Jones, Political advisor
* Scott Travis, Digital advisor
* Matt Hoskins, Finance advisor
* Spencer Schulze, Development associate

## Finances[edit]

The following is a breakdown of the SCF's annual contributions and expenditures from 2008 to 2016, as reported to the FEC.

Annual contributions and expenditures for the SCF, 2008-2016

Year  | Annual contributions  | Annual expenditures  | FEC records
2016 | $3,827,382 | $3,680,860 | Filing
2015 | $1,974,942 | $2,167,659 | Filing
2014 | $8,891,899 | $9,171,711 | Filing
2013 | $7,733,854 | $8,083,425 | Filing
2012 | $11,581,121 | $11,512,062 | Filing
2011 | $4,363,737 | $4,370,686 | Filing
2010 | $7,940,272 | $6,816,185 | Filing
2009 | $1,315,860 | $1,406,561 | Filing
2008 | $304,222 | $190,723 | Filing

## Legal status[edit]

The SCF is a political action committee (PAC). PACs are political committees established and administered by corporations, labor unions, membership organizations or trade associations. The general definition is a group that spends money on elections, but is not run by a party or individual candidate. However, PACs can donate money to parties or candidates they support. These committees raise funds either from individuals associated with the corporation (Separate Segregated Funds) or from any individuals who wish to contribute to the committee (Nonconnected PACs).[17] Nonconnected PACs are financially independent and pay for themselves via the contributions they raise. Separate segregated funds are funded by the organization they are associated with.[18]

## Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Senate Conservatives Fund'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Senate Conservatives Fund - Google News

## External links[edit]

* Official website

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Senate Conservatives Fund, "About," accessed July 19, 2017
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `about`
3. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
4. ↑ Senate Conservatives Fund, "Ken Cuccinelli Joins SCF as New President," accessed December 14, 2015
5. ↑ Politico, "Senate Conservatives Fund roils GOP," September 29, 2013
6. ↑ Politico, "An unbending leader on the right," January 9, 2014
7. ↑ Senate Conservatives Fund, "SCF Will Seek Primary Challengers Against Obamacare Republicans," July 18, 2017
8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `scf17`
9. ↑ Senate Conservatives Fund, "The 2016 Election cycle," archived November 2, 2016
10. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Senate Conservatives Fund Independent Expenditures, 2016," accessed July 19, 2017
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Senate Conservatives Fund, "Endorsements," archived February 27, 2014
12. ↑ The Hill, "Senate Conservatives fund backs Tea Party challenger Maness in Louisiana," October 28, 2013
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Senate Conservatives Fund, "Endorsements," archived October 20, 2014
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Politico, "James Lankford announces Senate bid," accessed January 20, 2014
15. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "Senate Conservatives Fund Independent Expenditures, 2014," accessed July 19, 2017
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Open Secrets, "Senate Conservatives Fund Independent Expenditures, 2012," accessed July 19, 2017
17. ↑ FEC "Quick Answers," accessed August 9, 2013
18. ↑ FEC "SSFs vs Nonconnected," accessed August 9, 2013

v • e

Influencers

Main|

What is an influencer? Contact the Ballotpedia team