{"id":969132,"date":"2021-11-04T19:28:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T23:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=969132"},"modified":"2021-11-04T19:28:56","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T23:28:56","slug":"virginia-campaign-marks-latest-disaster-for-lincoln-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-campaign-marks-latest-disaster-for-lincoln-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Campaign Marks Latest Disaster For Lincoln Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-campaign-marks-latest-disaster-for-lincoln-project%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=969132&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>Despite billing itself as an organization run by skillful political operatives, the pro-Democrat Lincoln Project has racked up a long string of electoral defeats.<\/p>\n<p>First announced by its four co-founders in a December 2019 New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/12\/17\/opinion\/lincoln-project.html\">op-ed<\/a>, the Super PAC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/political-action-committees-pacs\/the-lincoln-project\/C00725820\/summary\/2020\">raised<\/a> more than $87 million during the 2020 election cycle, spending nearly $82 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur efforts are aimed at persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don\u2019t enable or abet Mr. Trump\u2019s violations of the Constitution,\u201d long-time Republican operatives George Conway, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson wrote. <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/13\/lincoln-project-franklin-rick-wilson-john-weaver-trump\/\"><strong>(RELATED: The Lincoln Project Is Launching A New Spinoff To Promote \u2018Civility\u2019)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As part of those efforts, the Lincoln Project <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/outsidespending\/recips.php?cmte=C00725820&amp;cycle=2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spent<\/a> $46,860,445 in independent expenditures across sixteen Senate races and the presidential election. In those races, the group was on the winning side only five times, backing President Joe Biden, and Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. The Lincoln Project also opposed Republican Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, who lost her race to Democrat Mark Kelly, and Republican Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who lost to John Hickenlooper.<\/p>\n<p>In comparison, PACs that spent similar amounts of money, such as Americans for Prosperity Action and Independence USA, focused on only the presidential election or had much better win-loss records. Independence USA exclusively <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/outsidespending\/recips.php?cmte=C00532705&amp;cycle=2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spent<\/a> on the presidential election, while Americans for Prosperity Action <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/outsidespending\/detail.php?cmte=C00687103&amp;cycle=2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">boasted<\/a> a 20-15 win-loss record, according to Open Secrets.<\/p>\n<p>The vast majority of Lincoln Project independent expenditures, more than 88%, were on negative campaign ads. In addition to Republicans believed to be in close races, like Maine Sen. Susan <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/11\/04\/republican-maine-senator-susan-collins-trailed-polls-sara-gideon-win-reelection\/\">Collins<\/a> and Montana Sen. Steve <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/11\/04\/montana-senate-election-steve-daines-bullock\/\">Daines<\/a>, the group also spent money opposing Arkansas Sen. Tom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/11\/03\/us\/elections\/results-arkansas-senate.html\">Cotton<\/a> and Kentucky Sen. Mitch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/11\/03\/us\/elections\/results-kentucky-senate.html\">McConnell<\/a>, both of whom faced long-shot opponents.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"7.2\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Lincoln Project: \u201cSusan Collins never stands up to Donald Trump\u2026Collins isn\u2019t an independent. She\u2019s a fraud.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/th39opUjPs\">pic.twitter.com\/th39opUjPs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/keithboykin\/status\/1288474364162318338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Despite the group\u2019s claim that it would persuade conservatives to vote for Democrats, it did so in perhaps the most ineffective way possible. Political science <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/2053168015625078\">research<\/a> has consistently <a href=\"https:\/\/fas-polisci.rutgers.edu\/lau\/articles\/LauEtAl_EffectsOfNegativePoliticalCampaigns.pdf\">shown<\/a> that negative attack ads do not increase voter turnout overall, and do not persuade undecided voters to support a candidate. Negative campaign ads do, however, increase base turnout and improve fundraising metrics.<\/p>\n<p>The Lincoln Project struck again in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election, with a similar playbook. The group ran ads <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProjectLincoln\/status\/1454259261824028680\">claiming<\/a> that Trump \u201chandpicked\u201d Republican Glenn Youngkin to run for office, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProjectLincoln\/status\/1453866671676936192\">accusing<\/a> Youngkin of running a racist campaign. It later organized a hoax in which its operatives <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/29\/lincoln-project-takes-responsibility-for-tiki-torch-stunt\/\">stood<\/a> outside of a Youngkin rally dressed as white supremacists.<\/p>\n<p>The Super PAC\u2019s losing record, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/03\/08\/lincoln-project-leaders-attempted-to-move-millions-of-dollars-out-of-company-prepare-other-ventures\/\">reports<\/a> that its founders have used donations to fund their own companies and pay off existing debts, have led some observers to question the Lincoln Project\u2019s motives. Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/11\/07\/lincoln-project-alexandria-ocasio-cortez\/\">claimed<\/a> in November 2020 that the group was \u201cdefinitely in scam territory.\u201d Stephen Colbert\u2019s satirical news talk show, \u201cTooning Out The News,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/07\/14\/lincoln-project-rick-wilson-trolled-stephen-colbert\/\">labeled<\/a> Wilson and his co-founders \u201csavvy grifters,\u201d while noting the group\u2019s high operating costs.<\/p>\n<p>Other observers have suggested that the group committed campaign finance violations.<\/p>\n<p>During the 2020 Georgia Senate election run-off, former Lincoln Project communications director Keith Edwards worked as a paid consultant to the campaign of Jon Ossoff. However, Edwards\u2019 firm, That\u2019s Good Media, <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/lincoln-project-staffer-may-have-violated-campaign-finance-law-ethics-watchdog-says\/\">remained<\/a> on the payroll of the Lincoln Project through January. The Lincoln Project spent $142,000 in independent expenditures to promote Ossoff during the cycle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn situations where an individual has ties to both a campaign and outside organization, it raises serious concerns of illegal coordination,\u201d Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust executive director Kendra Arnold <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/lincoln-project-staffer-may-have-violated-campaign-finance-law-ethics-watchdog-says\/\">told<\/a> the Washington Free Beacon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite billing itself as an organization run by skillful political operatives, the pro-Democrat Lincoln Project has racked up a long string of electoral defeats.First announced by its four co-founders in &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}