Coconut Brat PAC bills itself as an “irreverent” Super PAC that was launched for the 2024 presidential election in support of the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris. The PAC states that it was “designed to shake up the political status quo,” and focuses on “social media activism.” ¹

The name of the Super PAC refers to Vice President Harris’s repeated use of a phrase in which she quoted her mother as saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” The term brat comes from the release of an album by British singer-songwriter Charlotte Emma Aitchison (known by the stage name Charli XCX) entitled “Brat.” In her endorsement of Harris, Aitchison wrote in a post on X that “Kamala IS brat.” ²

People

Howie Stanger is the treasurer of Coconut Brat PAC and works or has worked with several other political organizations. ^{3 4 5} Stanger is also the Founder and Director of Pocketbook Strategies, which supports “progressive organizations who want to dream big.” ⁶

Stanger is also the treasurer at AllVote, a Super PAC that works to “mobilize progressive voters.” ^{7 8} He is also the treasurer for DidTheyVote, and board president of the IfNotNow Movement. He had previously worked as Chief Operating Officer for the Sunrise Movement, and director of finance and operations at Habonim Dror North America. ⁴ Stanger is also the treasurer at Movement Labs, a left-of-center nonprofit technology group that uses peer-to-peer texting to promote left-of-center political candidates. ^{9 10}

Controversy

Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, CNN reported that a network of Super PACs with connections to Coconut Brat PAC had caused “confusion in key swing states” by sending text messages to voters claiming they had already voted. The messages came from AllVote and stated in part to the recipients that “records show you voted” before the 2024 election took place. Previously, the same group had sent misleading text messages to thousands of voters in Wisconsin with a link to the wrong election website, prompting complaints to the Wisconsin Election Commission and public criticism from the WEC. ⁸ AllVote also received warnings from the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center and a New Mexico election official for its practices. ¹¹

Coconut Brat PAC had sent out deceptive text messages, theirs with an AI-generated picture of a woman with the words, “Me and my friends only date guys that vote.” ^{11 12}

AllVote had contracted with Movement Labs to send the text messages out. ¹¹ Howie Stanger, who calls himself a “financial strategist for the left,” is connected to several of the groups involved in this texting scandal. Stanger is the treasurer for Coconut Brat PAC, AllVote, and Movement Labs. ^{13 4 9}

The network of Super PACs behind the texting scandal was linked to Democratic political lawyer Marc Elias, the Elias Law Group, and Evidence for Impact. ¹¹ Evidence for Impact is a PAC founded by Ezra Reese, the political law chair for Elias Law Group. ¹⁴ Evidence for Impact gave $2 million to a Super PAC called Voters of These 50 States of America, which in turn is the sole funder of the Super PACs AllVote, MaxVote, VoteWin, and Coconut Brat PAC. ¹¹

Financials

As of October 2024, in the 2023-2024 period of the 2024 election cycle, Coconut Brat PAC spent $30,000 supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. Coconut Brat PAC received $25,000 from Movement Labs. Coconut Brat PAC spent $20,000 with Lamar Companies for media expenses. ¹⁵

1. “Coconut Brat Pac.” Coconut Brat PAC. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.coconutbratpac.com/.
2.  “Coconuts & Brat: What’s behind the Memeification of Kamala Harris? | Euronews.” Euro News. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/07/24/coconuts-brat-whats-behind-the-memeification-of-kamala-harris
3. “Coconut Brat Pac – 2024 Cycle – FEC Itemizer.” ProPublica. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/committee/C00885954/2024.
4. “Howie Stanger – Founder + Director – Pocketbook Strategies.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/howie-stanger/.
5.   “FEC Form 1 for Coconut Brat PAC.” FEC. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00885954/1814784/.
6.   Kamp, Majlie de Puy, and Casey Tolan. “Misleading Text Messages from ‘voter Mobilization’ Group Create Confusion in Key Swing States.” CNN, October 30, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/politics/misleading-text-messages-voting-allvote-swing-states/index.html.
7. “FEC Form 1 for Coconut Brat PAC.” FEC. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00885954/1814784/.
8. Kamp, Majlie de Puy, and Casey Tolan. “Misleading Text Messages from ‘voter Mobilization’ Group Create Confusion in Key Swing States.” CNN, October 30, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/politics/misleading-text-messages-voting-allvote-swing-states/index.html.
9. “PAC Profile: Movement Labs.” OpenSecrets. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/movement-labs/C00849075/summary/2024.
10.  “Texting Services.” Movement Labs. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.movementlabs.com/elections.
11. Ross, Chuck. “Marc Elias’s Law Firm Linked to Network of DEM Super Pacs behind Deceptive Text Message Operation.” Washington Free Beacon, December 12, 2024. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/marc-eliass-law-firm-linked-to-network-of-dem-super-pacs-behind-deceptive-text-message-operation/.
12. “‘Coconut Brat Pac.’” X (formerly Twitter). Accessed December 30, 2024. https://x.com/w0rldmap/status/1842326411908153677.
13. “AllVote.” FEC.gov. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.fec.gov/data/browse-data/?tab=filings.
14. “Ezra Reese.” Elias Law Group LLP. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.elias.law/team/ezra-reese.
15. “Coconut Brat Pac Outside Spending.” OpenSecrets. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2024?cmte=C00885954&tab=summary.