Blue Organizing Project (BOP) is a super PAC associated with Democratic political group Field Strategies. BOP was involved in a controversy during the 2020 U.S. Congressional election in New Jersey’s second district. Former U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) donated $500,000 to BOP to support his wife, Amy Kennedy (D-NJ), in the election. Once the donation was discovered, Amy Kennedy joined critics in denouncing the donation. ¹

BOP has no website and little online presence. The New Jersey Globe has referred to BOP as “mysterious” and a “shadowy super PAC.” ¹

Background

Blue Organizing Project was established in May 2018. ¹ It is an affiliate of Field Strategies, a political advocacy group that works with labor groups, left-of-center advocacy organizations and campaigns and Democratic parties at the federal and state levels to help win elections through voter registration and outreach, most notably Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. ¹ BOP’s “Statement of Organization” with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) lists then-Field Strategies vice president Catherine Pasqualoni as treasurer and custodian of records, and her email address with Field Strategies as BOP’s email. ²

BOP shares an office with SBDigital, a political advertising company. ¹

TargetSmart, a political consulting company, has worked as a pollster for BOP. ¹

Funding

In 2018, the Blue Organizing Project received two donations of $50,000 from the SEIU MD/DC State Council American Dream Fund and the MSEA Fund for Children and Public Education. The organization was then dormant until February 2020, when it received $500,000 from former U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). As of July 2024, BOP had not received a donation since. ³

2020 Controversy

The Blue Organizing Project attracted criticism after receiving a $500,000 contribution from former U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) in February 2020. Shortly after the donation, BOP began financing ads criticizing Democratic primary opponents of Amy Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy’s wife, in her 2020 U.S. Congressional campaign. Amy Kennedy and others called for the PAC to cease its spending. Amy Kennedy also asked her opponent, Brigid Callahan Harrison, to reject corporate financial support. Amy Kennedy’s criticism of BOP enabled her to keep an endorsement from End Citizens United, which had extensive connections to both Kennedy. ¹

Democratic primary candidate Will Cunningham criticized Amy Kennedy’s rejection of BOP as disingenuous: “She got caught with her hands in the cookie jar, but now wants to cry afoul to make things right.” Harrison’s campaign filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against the Kennedys for alleged illegal coordination between BOP and Amy Kennedy’s campaign. ¹

After spending $75,000 on advertisements opposing Harrison, BOP spent an additional $192,000 on polling, research, and administration, but no further funds were spent on advertising against other candidates or for Amy Kennedy. ⁴

Harrison and Cunningham lost the Democratic primary to Kennedy, who was defeated in the general election by U.S. Representative Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ). ⁵

Leadership

Catherine M. Pasqualoni is listed as the treasurer of the Blue Organizing Project. ^{6 1} Pasqualoni has been the president of Organizing for Impact, a Democratic political operative training organization, since January 2024. From 2021 to 2022, she worked as the deputy political director of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. From 2012 to 2021, Pasqualoni worked in a variety of roles at Field Strategies, ending as vice president. ^{7 8}

1. Wildstein, David. “Amy Kennedy tells mysterious super PAC funded by her husband to stay out of her campaign.” New Jersey Globe. June 1, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/amy-kennedy-tells-mysterious/.
2. “Blue Organizing Project Statement of Organizing.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/414/201805239113318414/201805239113318414.pdf#navpanes=0.
3. “FEC search: Blue Organizing Project.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?committee_id=C00679423.
4. “Blue Organizing Project Recipients, 2020.” Open Secrets. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2020?cmte=C00679423&tab=targeted_candidates.
5. “Jeff Van Drew.” Ballotpedia. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Jeff_Van_Drew.
6. “Blue Organizing Project.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00679423.
7. “Catherine Pasqualoni.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-pasqualoni-9240081b5/.
8. “Organizing for Impact.” Democracy Jobs. Accessed July 30, 2024. https://www.democracyjobs.org/companies/organizing-for-impact.