One Nation

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One Nation is a dark money group run by Karl Rove's top operatives who run Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads.[1] According to the organization's website "One Nation is a 501(c)(4) organization that will utilize paid communications, public opinion research and grassroots-level advocacy to shape attitudes on major issues and mobilize citizens to take action by contacting and interacting with policymakers in Washington."[2]

Steven Law, former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), is the president and CEO of One Nation, the same role he has with McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund as well as Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads. [3][4] Law told NPR that the Rove groups would focus retaining the U.S. Senate in 2016.[5]

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the dark money group was initially registered with the IRS in 2010 as the Alliance for America's Future by Barry Bennett, one of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign advisors. Rove and his operatives took control of the group in 2015 in order to have a spending group with a pre-packaged 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status.[6] The Guardian reported in August, 2016 that Adelson had given $10 million to the dark money group.[7]

Alliance for America's Future Re-Purposed, Becomes Karl Rove's Dark Money Conduit One Nation

“When it wasn’t clear whether Crossroads GPS would be approved for an IRS exemption, Steven Law and several others who run Crossroads GPS took over this group and renamed it One Nation,” Robert Maguire of the Center for Responsive Politics said. “They’ve been one of the largest spenders in non-presidential races this cycle.”[1] Since co-opting Alliance for America's Future, Rove's Crossroads GPS finally attained 501(c)(4) status in November 2015 after waiting over five years for the designation.[8]

One Nation Fused with McConnell's "Senate Leadership Fund"

One Nation vs. Senate Leadership Fund - Reproduced with permission from Daily Report for Executives, 200 DER (Oct. 17, 2016). Copyright 2016 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) www.bna.com

Steven Law, a Karl Rove operative and former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, serves as president of both One Nation and Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican-linked super PAC “devoted solely to retaining the Senate majority” that “aims to be the go-to destination for major Republican donors interested in Senate races.”[9] Both One Nation and Senate Leadership Fund share the same suite 100 at 45 North Hill Drive in Warrenton, Virginia, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.[10][11]

The super PAC ramped up its ad buys shortly after One Nation drastically cut its advertising expenditures on September 6 in order to avoid disclosure with the FEC.[12] Senate Leadership Fund, unlike One Nation, must disclose its donors. As One Nation ad expenditures fizzled out it appears as if the Senate Leadership Fund stepped up in its place, it has spent over $50 million on Senate advertising as of October 25, 2016.[13]

One Nation Works to Avoid Disclosing its Funding

According to the Center for Responsive Politics One Nation spent more than $23 million running ads in Senate races through August 18, 2016, "more than any other candidate, super PAC or other entity active in Senate races around the nation." Since September 9, One Nation has only spent $2 million, most of which on mailers. This decrease in activity, as the Center for Responsive Politics notes, is due to the FEC rules governing disclosure. "As of Sept. 9 — 60 days before the election — the Federal Election Commission’s reporting 'window' opened, meaning spending on all ads that mention candidates has to be divulged to the agency. Before that date, only ads explicitly calling on viewers to vote for or against a candidate had to be reported." One Nation continues to post "issue ads" on its YouTube page without disclosure.[14]

Working to Preserve the Republican Majority in the Senate

Advertisement information and spending figures only include what the organization disclosed via its website and YouTube channel.

Alabama

Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL)

Florida

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Illinois

Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Indiana

Rep. Todd Young, running for Senate (R-IN)

Iowa

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Missouri

Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO)

Nevada

Rep. Joe Heck, running for Senate (R-NV)

New Hampshire

Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

North Carolina

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)

Ohio

Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)

Pennsylvania

Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA)

Personnel

Per One Nation's 2015 IRS tax filing:[41]

  • Steven Law, President and CEO
  • Barry Bennett, Board Member
  • Caleb Crosby, Secretary and Treasurer

Core Financials

2015[41]

  • Total Revenue: $10,349,196
  • Total Expenses: $7,064,538
  • Net Assets: $3,284,658

2014[42]

  • Total Revenue: $0
  • Total Expenses: $2,616
  • Net Assets: $1,680

Contact

Employer identification number (EIN): 27-1937961[42]

One Nation
45 North Hill Dr, Suite 100
Warrenton, Virginia, 20186
Phone: (202).370.6600
Website: http://www.onenationamerica.org/
Twitter: @OneNationOrg

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Josh Israel, Karl Rove’s Outside Spending Groups Migrate To New Dark Money Outfit, ThinkProgress, August 11, 2016.
  2. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1.4 Million Grassroots Issue Ad Effort in New Hampshire, organizational website, October 7, 2015.
  3. American Crossroads, Leadership Team, organizational website, accessed September 9, 2016.
  4. Crossroads GPS, Leadership Team, organizational website, accessed September 9, 2016.
  5. Alex Isenstadt, Panicking GOP makes major last-minute Senate investment, Politico, October 25, 2016.
  6. Robert Maguire, Rove’s ‘new’ group isn’t new, and that could be the point, Center for Responsive Politics, May 26, 2015.
  7. Peter Stone, Turned off by Trump: Republican mega-donors focus on congressional races, The Guardian, August 27, 2016.
  8. Robert Maguire, IRS gives nonprofit status to Rove’s controversial dark money group, Center for Responsive Politics, February 9, 2016.
  9. Fredreka Schouten, Exclusive: Rove-backed group to launch ads to help 3 Senate Republicans, USA Today, May 19, 2015.
  10. Federal Election Commission, FEC Form 5, One Nation, FEC Filing, October 4, 2016.
  11. Federal Election Commission, October Monthly Filing, Senate Leadership Fund, FEC Filing, October 20, 2016.
  12. Llewellyn Hinkes-Jones, Super PAC Spending Replaces Dark Money as Election Nears, Bloomberg BNA, October 14, 2016.
  13. Center for Responsive Politics, Senate Leadership Fund: Targeted Candidates, 2016 Cycle, opensecrets, accessed October 25, 2016.
  14. Ashley Balcerzak, Dark money ads plunged when reporting requirement kicked in, Center for Responsive Politics, October 19, 2016.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 One Nation, One Nation Launches With Ad Blitz Promoting Congressional Consensus on Medicare, organizational website, May 12, 2015.
  16. One Nation, One Nation Launches $250K National Security Advocacy Push in Indiana, organizational website, March 23, 2016.
  17. One Nation, One Nation Launches Supreme Court Ad in Iowa, organizational website, March 17, 2016.
  18. One Nation, One Nation Spending $1 Million on New Medicare Themed Ad in Missouri, organizational website, August 16, 2016.
  19. One Nation, New One Nation Ad Encourages Senator Blunt to Keep Fighting for Military Families, organizational website, June 9, 2016.
  20. One Nation, One Nation Launches $785K Grassroots Advocacy Effort in Missouri, organizational website, October 22, 2015.
  21. One Nation, One Nation Launches New TV Ad in Nevada Focusing on High-Tech Jobs, organizational website, July 6, 2016.
  22. One Nation, One Nation Launches $2.3 Million Advocacy Effort in Nevada, organizational website, June 15, 2016.
  23. One Nation, One Nation Launches $792K Grassroots Advocacy Effort in Nevada, organizational website, October 22, 2015.
  24. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1.3 Million Ad Campaign in NH, organizational website, August 6, 2016.
  25. One Nation, New One Nation Ad in NH: Ayotte-Backed Legislation Addressing the Opioid Crisis, organizational website, July 6, 2016.
  26. One Nation, New One Nation Ad in NH: Stop Using Tax Dollars for Politics, organizational website, June 17, 2016.
  27. One Nation, New One Nation Ad in NH: “Tell Governor Hassan it’s Time to Step Up on the Heroin Epidemic”, organizational website, June 6, 2016.
  28. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1.12 Million Ad Campaign Focused on the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, organizational website, March 22, 2016.
  29. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1.4 Million Grassroots Issue Ad Effort in New Hampshire, organizational website, October 7, 2015.
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 One Nation, One Nation Launches Radio Ads Advocating for the TPA, organizational website, May 18, 2015.
  31. One Nation, One Nation Launches Second Ad as Part of New $1 Million Advocacy Campaign in North Carolina, organizational website, August 26, 2016.
  32. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1.5 Million Advocacy Campaign in North Carolina, organizational website, August 16, 2016.
  33. One Nation, One Nation’s New Ohio Ad Highlights How Local Youngstown Business Struggles with Obamacare, organizational website, July 6, 2016.
  34. One Nation, One Nation’s New Ad Launches $4.8 Million Advocacy Campaign in Ohio, organizational website, June 10, 2016.
  35. One Nation, One Nation Launches $66K Digital Ad Campaign in Ohio, organizational website, March 1, 2016.
  36. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1.12 Million Grassroots Advocacy Push in Ohio, organizational website, October 28, 2015.
  37. One Nation, One Nation Begins Two Week, $1.1 Million Advocacy Campaign in Pennsylvania, organizational website, August 23, 2016.
  38. One Nation, One Nation Launches New Television Ad in Pennsylvania: “Pass the Trash”, organizational website, July 6, 2016.
  39. One Nation, One Nation Launches $2.71 Million Advocacy Campaign in Pennsylvania, organizational website, June 14, 2016.
  40. One Nation, One Nation Launches $1 Million Grassroots Advocacy Push in Pennsylvania, organizational website, February 25, 2016.
  41. 41.0 41.1 One Nation, 2015 IRS Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, November 14, 2016.
  42. 42.0 42.1 One Nation, 2014 IRS Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, November 13, 2015.