Senate Majority Project

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The Senate Majority Project is a 527 committee [1] Democratic organization promoting Democratic control of the U.S. Senate [2].

The Project, which launched officially on March 2, 2006 [3], is a political action committee formed with the backing of former Senate Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), who lost his bid for re-election in 2002. [4]

The Project was formed with the help of "veteran" Democratic Party "operative" Jim Jordan and Steve Ricchetti and Mike Gehrke, "two high-level staff members" under President Bill Clinton. [5]

The aim of the new "political advocacy group" is to "[create] a clearinghouse of opposition-research information against all Senate Republicans." Daschle "and other Democrats" plan "to collect and disseminate political information critical of all GOP senators, not just the handful of vulnerable incumbents whom Democrats have targeted this year. The project is the first concerted attempt by Democrats to create a permanent opposition-research arm focusing on all Republicans." [6]

"The project's leaders say their model is the GOP's vast opposition-research campaigns run at the national and state level, which dig up Democrats' votes and positions on controversial issues, then use the information as political weapons well before Election Day." [7]

Background

The Project dates to October 31, 2005, as the Senate Majority Project Blogspot begun by Mike Gehrke [8], who worked for presidential candidate John Kerry during the 2004 election and is a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) aide. [9]

Mission

The Senate Majority Project states that its mission is "to increase the accountability of the majority of U.S. Senators" by "actively monitor[ing] issues before the U.S. Senate, and closely review the public actions and positions of Republican Senators -- votes, statements, fundraising, and outside-of-Washington activities. Rather than campaigning for or against a particular senator," the Project states that it "aim[s] to provide a balance to the taxpayer-paid propaganda that too often is unchallenged by either national or local media." [10]

Funding

"The group received hundreds of thousands of dollars in seed money last year primarily from Democrat-friendly labor unions and trial lawyers, according to IRS data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The organization expects to spend about $800,000 a year, according to a brochure mailed to prospective donors. The group wants to raise an additional $1.5 million for ads about Republican senators, project leaders say." [11]

Categories

Project Team

Contact Information

Senate Majority Project
235 Mass Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202 204-9054
Website: http://www.senatemajority.com

Related SourceWatch Resources

External links

=Profiles

2005

2006