A new heavyweight conservative group has joined the campaign for the abortion amendment, booking nearly $400,000 in ad time with the election less than two weeks away.
The Restoration Political Action Committee, which “opposes leftists and the woke agenda,” booked about $380,000 in cable and network television ads in Kansas in support of the constitutional amendment, according to a national ad tracking firm.
It’s the latest outside group that has joined either side of the campaign with the total raised approaching nearly $14 million and making this one of the most expensive primary races in Kansas history.
Groups from the left and the right are pumping millions of dollars into the state in an effort to get the amendment passed or to defeat the measure with Kansas being the first state to vote on abortion following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The Restoration PAC, which is headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, has booked air time in Wichita, Kansas City and Topeka, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.
It is putting about $62,000 into the Wichita market, $174,000 into Kansas City and about $144,000 into Topeka.
Restoration PAC is the eighth group that has bought or booked broadcast time in the campaign – seven supporting the amendment and one opposed, according to AdImpact.
Total broadcast spending on both sides now equals a little more than $10.3 million as of Friday night.
Supporters have spent about $5.5 million while opponents have now spent about $4.8 million.
The Restoration PAC describes itself as a “non-partisan political action committee that engages in political activities, advocates for policy changes and/or the election or defeat of candidates on the basis of time-tested conservative principles.”
The PAC says it says it “engages in elections, provides support to truly conservative candidates, and opposes Leftists and the woke agenda.
“Restoration PAC’s goal is to enable all Americans to live in true freedom under the founding principles that have made America the greatest country in the world.”
The PAC raised about $14.3 million from Dec. 17, 2020, through June 30 of this year, according to federal campaign finance records.
As of June 30, the PAC had about $436,000 in cash on hand.
The PAC was formed by Doug Truax, who was defeated in the 2014 primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Truax said on the group’s website that his organizations “exist solely to get things done in the fight to preserve our way of life.”
Part of Restoration Action’s overall umbrella group include the Voter Reference Foundation, which analyzes state voter rolls looking for signs of voting irregularities.
ProPublica reported that there have been questions raised about Voter Reference’s methodology and whether its actions are legal.
The Restoration Action PAC is the latest big player from outside Kansas to get involved in the abortion amendment campaign, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America for the amendment and the Sixteen Thirty Fund against the amendment.
The chief opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment – Kansans for Constitutional Freedom – has hauled in about $7 million, including $1 million from Stacy Schusterman, a philanthropist and businesswoman from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Forbes reported last month that Schusterman and her husband had a net worth of $3.5 billion and made $5.6 million in donations to pro-choice causes since 2000.
It also received about $1.4 million from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which promotes access to affordable health care and addresses climate change and has given millions of dollars over the years to left-leaning causes.
In 2018, Politico reported that the fund gave money to fighting Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment and other Trump judicial nominees as well as promoting ballot measures raising the minimum wage and changing laws on voting and redistricting.
The fund reported raising about $143 million in 2018, according to its tax return from that year, the latest available.
The report shows that the fund gave $27.1 million to America Votes, $1.3 million to Arkansans for a Fair Wage, $2 million to Coloradoans to Stop Predatory Payday Loans, among others.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund contributed $850,000 to Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, while Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes gave $492,000.
The American Civil Liberties Union also gave $250,000.
Susan B. Anthony has put $1.3 million into the campaign while CatholicVote Civic Action donated $250,000 to a PAC organized by former Congressman Tim Huelskamp in support of the amendment.
