Mayday PAC

Lawrence Lessig in 2008

Mayday PAC is an American crowd-funded non-partisan Super PAC created by Harvard Law School professor and activist Lawrence Lessig. Its purpose is to help elect candidates to the Congress to pass campaign finance reform.^[1][2] It is notable for raising large sums from numerous contributors in a short span of time,^[3][4][5] and was described in the Los Angeles Times as the "super PAC to end all super PACs,"^[6] although its ability to influence elections has not yet been tested.^[7] Its strategic plan is to raise money, help elect a few reform-minded candidates in office, raise more money to elect more candidates in 2016, and keep growing until it has a majority in the House and Senate.

Strategy

Mayday PAC's strategy,^[8] as they describe it, has four stages: (1) in 2014 testing intervention in Congressional races, (2) in 2016 electing a Congressional majority in favor of reform, (3) in 2017 winning election reform legislation, and (4) pressing for whatever Constitutional reform is necessary to secure the reform.

Background

Lawrence Lessig has advocated electoral reform for many years,^[9] and conceived the idea of a crowdfunded Super PAC as a way to achieve such reform. Mayday PAC began in May 2014,^[1] but before officially launching the fund raising effort, Lessig led 200 people on a walk from Dixville Notch to Nashua in the New Hampshire, stopping at coffee shops and small events to talk with people about money in politics, to generate media attention; further walks are planned.^[6] He explained:

Yes, we want to spend big money to end the influence of big money... Ironic, I get it. But embrace the irony.

—Lawrence Lessig in May 2014^[10]

The fund-raising plan is a variation on traditional crowd funding approaches in that specified fund-raising targets must be met by certain dates.^[11] Lessig explained that the immediate goal is to raise enough money to sway five elections to Congress.^[12] He said:

We've structured this as a series of matched-contingent goals. We've got to raise $1 million in 30 days; if we do, we'll get that $1 million matched. Then we've got to raise $5 million in 30 days; if we do, we'll get that $5 million matched as well. If both challenges are successful, then we'll have the money we need to compete in 5 races in 2014. Based on those results, we’ll launch a (much much) bigger effort in 2016—big enough to win.

—Lessig, May 2014^[11]

On July 28, 2014, the PAC began a $12-million advertising campaign for the 2014 Midterm elections. The plan is to spend the funds electing members of congress who are committed to getting money out of politics, regardless of their party affiliation. $4 million of this money will be spent in Senate races in Iowa and New Hampshire.^[13]

By August 2014, it was described as the "super PAC to end all Super PACs"; according to the National Journal and Forbes magazine, Mayday PAC is considered to be highly effective at rallying public support.^[14][15][16]

Targeted races in 2014

In August 2014, Mayday PAC increased the total number of Congressional races it will target from five to eight, and announced three more candidates that it will back. Each candidate is a strong supporter of election reform. The current list of candidates includes the following:

• Ruben Gallego (D, AZ), won his primary race on August 26 and was elected November 4, becoming the first candidate supported by Mayday PAC to win an election. Gallego supports the Government by the People Act which favors establishing a system of elections in which candidates who choose to accept only small donations receive matching funds.^[17] Elected in 2010, he served as assistant minority leader in the Arizona House of Representatives.

• Carol Shea-Porter (D, NH), (Lost Nov 4) the first woman to be elected to a federal office from New Hampshire,^[18] is a champion of reform. She is a vocal opponent of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision^[19] and supported the Consumer Protection Act. She voted for the CARD Act, helping protect Americans from credit card company abuse and constantly stands up to well-financed special interests on Capitol Hill. Shea-Porter currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.^[18]

• Walter Jones (R, NC), (won on Nov 4) a member of the House, recently won his primary against a former Bush Administration official and lobbyist for the financial industry. He is the only Republican Member of Congress to publicly support campaign finance reform and the only Republican co-sponsor of the Government by the People Act (matching funds for small donors)^[20] and the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to reveal the donors behind dark money campaign advertisements.^[21] He is also a critic of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

• Jim Rubens (R, NH), lost his bid to defeat Scott Brown in the New Hampshire Republican primary, 24.5% to 49.9%. He narrowed his opponent's lead substantially (from 51% to 25.4%) due at least in part to Mayday's $1.6M campaign spending.^[22]

• Staci Appel (D, IA), (Lost on Nov 4) former state senator, has pledged to support the Government By The People Act (public matching funds for small donors) and supports a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. As State Senator, Appel sponsored legislation (SSB 1173) that would have established public financing of elections in Iowa for the first time. First elected to the state senate in 2006, she was defeated in 2010 by a Tea Party candidate.^[23]

• Rick Weiland (D, SD), (lost Nov 4) regional director of FEMA (appointed by President Bill Clinton), director of the South Dakota AARP, and previous candidate for South Dakota's at-large congressional district. Weiland has only six staffers working on his campaign, and has put 50,000 miles on his minivan during the campaign. He is reported to have $300,000 cash on hand.^[24]

• Greg Orman (I, KS), Lost on Nov 4

• Paul Clements (D, MI), Lost on Nov 4

Fundraising progress

• Match donors for $1 million: Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, Chris Anderson, Brad Burnham, David Milner, Fred Wilson, Joanne Wilson, Vin Ryan.

See also

• Campaign finance reform in the United States
• Rootstrikers
• Wolf PAC

References

External links

• MAYDAY.US the official site for contributions
• The Unstoppable Walk to Political Reform Lessig talks on TED
• Campaign Finance and the Nihilist Politics of Resignation, Lessig essay in The Atlantic April 2014