Take Back Our Republic (TBOR)

Members of Take Back Our Republic participated with left-of-center groups such as Black Lives Matter and Democracy Spring in a 2016 protest seeking the reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that allowed greater campaign-related speech.  ² Take Back Our Republic Action was the political advocacy sister organization of Take Back Our Republic.  ³

Take Back Our Republic appears to have ceased operations. Its last tax returns were filed in 2020, its 501(c)(3) status was automatically revoked for failing to file nonprofit tax returns for three consecutive years in 2024, and its website is no longer operational as of 2026. ⁴

Issues

Take Back Our Republic wrote on a variety of topics to educate the public on how money impacts the democratic process, with a mission to “increas[e] the role of individual citizens in the American political system.” Its primary areas of concern were gerrymandering, ranked-choice voting, so-called “dark money,” foreign contributions to U.S. elections, and campaign finance. ⁵

In 2023, TBOR’s sister organization, Take Back Our Republic Action, co-signed a letter sent to all 2024 presidential Democratic and Republican candidates, as well as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The letter urged all candidates to publicly disclose information about their campaign bundlers on a regular basis. The letter, written by Issue One, was also signed by left-leaning organizations like the Campaign Legal Center, the League of Women Voters, and the Project on Government Oversight. ⁶

Campaign Speech

Take Back Our Republic New England chairman Jim Rubens, a former candidate for U.S. Senate from New Hampshire, wrote an op-ed for the organization backing a constitutional amendment to impose limits on campaign contributions. Rubens argued that Democrats have had an advantage in “dark money” spending, stating in 2018, left-of-center dark money groups outspent right-of-center dark money groups. Further, Rubens noted, in the special election of 2017 for the Alabama U.S. Senate seat, California billionaire Reid Hoffman used a “dark money” group to support Democratic candidate Doug Jones. ⁷

In 2020, Take Back Our Republic co-signed a letter addressed to President Donald Trump that advocated appointing Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioners to reach a quorum and to enforce election laws. ⁸

Redistricting

Take Back Our Republic also advocated for ending legislative redistricting and placing bipartisan commissions in charge of drawing district lines for U.S. Congressional and state legislative districts.  ⁹

The organization funded and campaigned for state ballot initiatives to adopt redistricting commissions. ⁹

Financials

Despite generally supporting right-of-center policies, Take Back Our Republic supported left-of-center policies on election administration and campaign speech, and much of the group’s funding came from large left-of-center institutional funders. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund both provided six-figure sums to Take Back Our Republic; the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund provided smaller amounts. ¹⁰

According to its last filed tax return in 2020, Take Back Our Republic generated $932,855 in revenues from contributions and grants.  ¹¹ It paid out $602,315 in salaries and compensation. Its total expenses were $1 million.  ¹² Its biggest expense was $832,609 for research, analysis, and educational activities regarding campaign finance. ¹³

Leadership

John Pudner was the executive director of Take Back Our Republic. He claims credit for launching the 2014 U.S. Congressional campaign of former U.S. Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA), who defeated then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) in a Republican primary. That same year, he also helped defeat a 32-year incumbent Democrat Alabama state senator. Pudner ran an effort to reach Catholic and socially right-leaning voters in 2000 on behalf of the George W. Bush campaign. ¹⁴ He later had a stint running the sports coverage of the Breitbart News Network. ⁹

After his time with Take Back Our Republic, Pudner became the president of the Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition in November 2023. ¹⁵ Pudner also sits on the advisory council of American Promise. ¹⁶

Francis Johnson was the president and chair of the board of Take Back Our Republic. He is a founding partner of the public relations firm Communications Resources. He held positions in the 1992 George H.W. Bush campaign, the 2000 and 2004 George W. Bush campaigns, and the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign. He was also part of Jim Gilmore’s successful 1997 campaign for Virginia governor. He was previously the political director for the Senate Action Center and the Conservative Action Alliance. ¹⁷

Justin Hill was the deputy director of Take Back Our Republic. He has worked for state campaigns in Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Virginia. ¹⁸