Weston Milliken is a former management consultant and board secretary for the Democracy Alliance, a collective of left-of-center donors that has been active in orchestrating “the activities of a permanent ‘left infrastructure’” since 2004. ¹ He is the son of the late South Carolina textile billionaire and major conservative donor Roger Milliken. ²

Milliken has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to left-of-center committees and political campaigns since 2000, including $126,800 in 2012 and $174,814 in 2016. ³

Democracy Alliance

Weston Milliken is the board secretary for the Democracy Alliance, a collective of left-of-center donors that has been active in orchestrating “the activities of a permanent ‘left infrastructure’” since 2004. ⁴ Since its inception in 2005, the Democracy Alliance has “steer[ed] more than than $600 million [. . .] to a portfolio of carefully selected groups, including pillars of the Clinton-aligned establishment like the think tank Center for American Progress and the media watchdog Media Matters.” ⁵

Milliken hosted a talk at a Democracy Alliance caucus meeting in 2014 called “Southern Discomfort: As Goes the South, So Goes Our Nation.” According to the agenda of the talk, Weston and other members of the Democracy Alliance would discuss effective ways to change “southern conservatism,” which is described as having “constrained” national policy. ⁶

The talk also claimed that a “New American Majority” has the ability to influence election outcomes, and how Democracy Alliance could potentially “change conditions” in the south with “long-term, coordinated investments around shared goals.” ⁷

Milliken has also been named as one of the Democracy Alliance board members who will sit on the group’s “2020 Vision Committee.” ⁸

Milliken was also one of the Democracy Alliance members who directly donated to the Biden Foundation, which raised a total of $6,623,173 in 2016, and 2017. ⁹ According to the Biden Foundation’s website, Milliken contributed between $1,000 and $99,000 to the foundation. ¹⁰

Donations

Weston Milliken has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to left-of-center committees and political candidates since 2000, including $126,800 in 2012 and $174,814 in 2016. ¹¹

He donated $10,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2000, $10,000 to the DNC in 2002, $10,000 in 2003, $30,800 in 2011, another $30,800 in 2012, $33,400 in 2016, and another $10,000 in 2017. ¹²

Milliken, since 1999, has also donated $30,750 to EMILY’s List,¹³ a group that operates as a federal PAC which bundles and gives contributions to pro-abortion, Democratic female candidates for office. ¹⁴

EMILY’s List has been criticized for using divisive tactics in primary elections, most famously when the group signed on early to support Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2008 and proceeded to criticize Barack Obama and feuded with other pro-abortion groups for endorsing him. ¹⁵

He has donated $10,000 to the Every Voice PAC, Friends of Democracy,¹⁶ and $25,000 to the Win Justice PAC,¹⁷ a political action committee created by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Planned Parenthood Votes, Color of Change, and the Center for Community Change (CCC). Win Justice has strong ties to the Democracy Alliance and received $5 million of its $12 million in revenue for the 2018 election cycle from billionaire George Soros. ¹⁸

1. Thomas. “Are Liberals Fund-Raising Hypocrites?” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 1, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/opinion/are-liberals-fundraising-hypocrites.html?_r=0.
2. Vadum, Matthew. “The ‘Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.’” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center, October 6, 2014. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy-george-soross-democracy-alliance-remains-a-potent-force-in-the-2014-elections/.
3. “Weston Milliken Political Campaign Contributions2016 Election Cycle.” Weston Milliken – $174,814 in Political Contributions for 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/weston-milliken.asp?cycle=16.
4. Thomas. “Are Liberals Fund-Raising Hypocrites?” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 1, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/opinion/are-liberals-fundraising-hypocrites.html?_r=0.
5. Vogel, Kenneth P. “The ‘Resistance,’ Raising Big Money, Upends Liberal Politics.” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 7, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/us/politics/democrats-resistance-fundraising.html.
6. “Democracy Alliance 2014 Agenda.” Politico. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://images.politico.com/global/2014/11/25/da_confagenda_2014-winter-pg9_110714.html.
7. “Democracy Alliance 2014 Agenda.” Politico. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://images.politico.com/global/2014/11/25/da_confagenda_2014-winter-pg9_110714.html.
8. Lachlan-Markay. “Top Donors Help Steer Democracy Alliance’s 2016 Strategy.” Washington Free Beacon. Washington Free Beacon, April 21, 2015. https://freebeacon.com/politics/top-donors-help-steer-democracy-alliances-2016-strategy/.
9. Joe-Schoffstall. “Biden Foundation Coffers Filled by Democracy Alliance Members.” Washington Free Beacon. Washington Free Beacon, May 6, 2019. https://freebeacon.com/politics/biden-foundation-coffers-filled-by-democracy-alliance-members/.
10. “Contributor Information -Biden Foundation – A New Stage of Public Service.” Biden Foundation. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://archive.bidenfoundation.org/contributor-information/.
11. “Weston Milliken Political Campaign Contributions2016 Election Cycle.” Weston Milliken – $174,814 in Political Contributions for 2016. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/weston-milliken.asp?cycle=16.
12. “The Center for Responsive Politics.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=desc&page=1&q=weston+milliken&sort=D&type=donors.
13. “The Center for Responsive Politics.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=desc&page=4&q=weston+milliken&sort=D&type=donors.
14. “Gender and Women’s Leadership.” Google Books. Google. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-3J_3pDNZlkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=”emily’s list”&f=true.
15. Brownstein, Ronald, Charlie Cook, Major Garrett, Reid Wilson, Josh Kraushaar, Matthew Dowd, Gwen Ifill, Bara Vaida, and Jennifer Skalka. “Can EMILY’s List Get Its Mojo Back?” NationalJournal.com. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20120203083030/http:/www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/can-emily-s-list-get-its-mojo-back–20080628.
16. “The Center for Responsive Politics.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=desc&page=1&q=weston+milliken&sort=D&type=donors.
17. “The Center for Responsive Politics.” OpenSecrets. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=desc&page=1&q=weston+milliken&sort=D&type=donors.
18. “WIN JUSTICE – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00672394/?tab=raising.