America Rising

America Rising is a firm used by the Republican Party for opposition research, video tracking, and media monitoring against Democratic politicians and candidates.  1 America Rising previously had two separate arms: a limited liability corporation, which is still active, and a super PAC for making independent expenditures, which filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on July 21, 2023. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: For-profit
Ideological Alignment: Right of Center
Website: www.americarisingpac.org (defunct)
President:

Matt Wall

Contents

    Activities

    America Rising is a Republican opposition research firm that provides information to right-of-center causes and candidates to help them run winning campaigns. America Rising offers services like deep dive research, candidate vetting, ad verification, video tracking using operatives trained to capture unscripted moments and real-time video intelligence, and media monitoring that uses a war room model to offer a constant stream of intelligence. 1

    America Rising PAC

    America Rising PAC was a right-of-center super PAC that was founded in Spring 2013 to expose aspects of Democratic candidates through video tracking, research, and strategic communications. America Rising PAC uncovered many instances of Democratic hypocrisy and embarrassment to support Republican candidates. 3

    America Rising PAC’s website maintained a searchable research library about Democrats and their policies. Pages on notable Democrats like President Joe Biden, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams included a list of “fast facts” and links to research articles. The research library also had pages on specific issues that included articles exposing Democrats’ alleged hypocrisy on subjects like education, immigration, and health care. 4

    Cassie Smedile was the executive director of America Rising PAC. Smedile previously worked as the deputy communications director at the Republican National Committee and communications director roles for U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN).  3 As of 2026, Smedile was a principal with the public affairs firm Cornerstone. 5

    America Rising PAC filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission on July 21, 2023. 2

    Leadership

    As of 2026, Matt Wall was the president of America Rising. Wall previously worked as the deputy executive director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and as senior editorial producer for Fox News Digital. 1

    As of 2026, Mary Mac Cowan was the chief of staff of America Rising. Cowan previously worked as the deputy research director at the NRSC.  1

    As of 2026, Tyler Stark was the research director of America Rising. Stark previously worked as the deputy research director for the independent expenditure division of the NRSC. 1

    Financials

    According to the Center for Responsive Politics (Open Secrets), America Rising received $4.7 million in reported payments in the 2024 election cycle. Its largest payors were the National Republican Senatorial Committee ($1.4 million), the National Republican Congressional Committee ($1 million), and the Congressional Leadership Fund ($1 million). 6 Those three groups, all Republican-affiliated committees, were also its largest payors in the 2022 election cycle, during which America Rising reported total payments of $5.2 million. 7

    In the two-year period 2021-2022, America Rising PAC reported to the FEC that it took in $696,722 in total contributions and spent $773,248 in operating expenditures. 8 While most of America Rising PAC’s contributions for that period came from individual donors, Michigan Rising Action contributed $8,956. 9

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    References

    1. “Home.” America Rising. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://americarisingllc.com/.
    2. “America Rising PAC: FEC Form 3X.” Federal Election Commission. July 21, 2023. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00542902/1716781/ .
    3. “About.” America Rising PAC. Archived from the original February 26, 2024. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20240226194518/https://americarisingpac.org/about/.
    4. “Research Library.” America Rising PAC. Archived from the original February 28, 2024. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20240228122549/https://americarisingpac.org/research-library/.
    5. “Carrie Smedile.” Cornerstone. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://cgagroup.com/people/cassie-smedile/.
    6. “Vendor/Recipient: America Rising 2024.” OpenSecrets. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2024&vendor=America+Rising.
    7. “Vendor/Recipient: America Rising 2022.” OpenSecrets. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2022&vendor=America+Rising.
    8. “AmericaRisingPAC.org: Financial Summary.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00542902/?cycle=2022.
    9. “AmericaRisingPAC.org: Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed June 13, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00542902&contributor_name=michigan&two_year_transaction_period=2022.