Per Aspera Policy Inc.

Organization

Per Aspera Policy Inc. is a 501(c)(4) organization formed in 2018 to promote a stronger Kansas economy through “common sense conservative solutions.” Today the group is active nationally in channeling funds to policy and political campaigns during election years. It does not disclose its donors, causing critics to characterize it as a “dark money group.” ^{4  1}

Activities/Initiatives

Per Aspera Policy Inc.’s initial activity was funding advertising for Republican Kris Kobach’s 2018 failed Kansas gubernatorial campaign that the Kansas City Star reported was funded by Peter Thiel. PAP was a sponsor of the National Conservatism Conference in October 2021, with keynote speaker Thiel contributing $50,000 as a co-sponsor. ⁵

In 2022, PAP contributed $200,000 to the Protect Ohio Values super PAC in support of Vice President J.D. Vance’s (R) successful United States Senate campaign, which was also reportedly funded by Thiel. ^{6  3}

In 2023, the organization donated $50,000 to Manassas Park Votes No, an anti-gaming committee that opposed a ballot measure to enable expanded legalized gambling in Manassas Park, Virginia. ^{7  8}

Funding

Per Aspera Policy Inc. is not required to disclose its donors. A $200,000 donation was made in 2024 by Purple Action Inc., a group that also made grants to Working for America Policy, and the Green Dragon Society in 2024, and $50,000 was sourced from the American Leadership Fund Inc., a group that also donated $3,375,000 to Montana Policy Action in 2024. ^{9  10  11}

Per Aspera Policy Inc. paid $400,000 to Believe in Life and Liberty PAC, which is affiliated with U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), representing 43 per cent of its total receipts, and $400,000 to Right Arizona, representing 50.2 per cent of its total receipts for section 527 exempt activities according to its 2024 tax return. ^{12  13  14  15}

Controversy

Per Aspera Policy Inc. was involved in a dispute with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission following the 2018 elections. The commission investigated Facebook ads supporting Republican Kris Kobach’s failed 2018 gubernatorial campaign and sought disclosure of donors. The attorney who incorporated PAP represented the group in the case and claimed it had engaged in no “express advocacy.” The donors were never disclosed. ¹⁶

PAP donated six separate times in 2026 to the Justice for Democracy PAC (JDPAC), operated by former Virginia Delegate A.C. Cordoza (R-Hampton), totaling $9,724,000 that was used to circulate mailers in opposition to Virginia’s 2026 redistricting referendum that some called deceptive and inflammatory. The mailers used civil rights-era and Jim Crow imagery, including references to KKK hoods and quotes involving President Barack Obama, to persuade Black voters to oppose the redistricting referendum. ^{2  17}

Leadership

Luke Thompson, a Republican political strategist and co-founder of Cerberus Strategies who ran the pro-J.D. Vance super PAC “Protect Ohio Values” in 2022, is the president and the only officer disclosed on Per Aspera Policy Inc.’s 2025 tax return. ¹⁸