Courage Campaign Super PAC (CCSP) is the political action committee (PAC) branch of the progressive advocacy organization Courage Campaign and its fundraising and education arm, Courage Campaign Institute.

Background

The Courage Campaign Super PAC was formed in California in 2011 with the goal of reelecting President Barack Obama in his 2012 campaign. The organization stands for progressive issues and has spent large amounts of money aiming to elect Democratic Party politicians to office during each of the election cycles since 2012.¹

Campaigns

“Mitt Gets Worse”

In 2011, CCSP and American Bridge 21^st Century, a Democratic super PAC that aims to prevent Republicans from being elected to public office, created “Mitt Gets Worse,” a series of social media accounts criticizing 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The account bashed Romney for his support of traditionalist conservative positions on LGBT-related issues. Multiple videos created by Mitt Gets Worse were featured on ThinkProgress, a left-wing news website and branch of the think tank Center for American Progress.^{2 3}

2018 Midterm Elections

Courage Campaign Super PAC was heavily involved in the 2018 midterm elections with the goal of “taking back the House of Representatives” by electing Democratic candidates in California Congressional districts.⁴ CCSP spent $568,819 during the 2018 election.⁵

Funding

Courage Campaign Super PAC reported total contributions of $737,114.40 from 2017 to 2018, according to filings with the FEC. The majority of the contributions to CCSP were facilitated through ActBlue, a major left-leaning fundraising platform. CCSP spent $24,748.18 in “merchant fees” to ActBlue in those same years. $395,128.40 of the donations to CCSP were unitemized according to the same FEC filings, while $42,500 was labeled as “other committee contributions” between 2017 and 2018.⁶

The PAC arm of Unified Domestic Workers of America (UDW) made a $25,000 donation to CCSP in 2018 according to the same FEC filings. ⁷ Doug Moore, who works as the executive director of UDW, serves on the board of the Courage Campaign 501(c)(3) arm, Courage Campaign Institute.

CCSP received a $35,000 from Quinn Delaney, a major left-leaning California campaign donor and associate of the  Democracy Alliance, a national funding coordination organization for center-left groups. The PAC also received a $17,500 donation from Women for American Values and Ethics, a progressive organization based in Irvine, California, that advocates for liberal expansionist immigration policies in California as well as LGBT issues and $10,000 from the labor union National Union of Healthcare Workers.^{8 9}

1. “Courage Campaign Super PAC.” Courage Campaign Super PAC. Accessed February 14, 2019. http://www.couragesuperpac.org/.
2. “Mitt Gets Worse (@mittgetsworse).” Twitter. May 2012. Accessed February 14, 2019. https://twitter.com/mittgetsworse.
3. “‘Mitt Gets Worse’ Project Warns of Romney’s Anti-LGBT Record.” ThinkProgress. July 18, 2012. Accessed February 14, 2019. https://thinkprogress.org/mitt-gets-worse-project-warns-of-romney-s-anti-lgbt-record-37cec21e9955/.
4. “Courage Campaign Super PAC.” Courage Campaign Super PAC. Accessed February 14, 2019. http://www.couragesuperpac.org/.
5. “Courage Campaign Super PAC Summary.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed February 14, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00523498&cycle=2018.
6. “COURAGE CAMPAIGN SUPER PAC – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed February 15, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00523498/?tab=summary.
7. “COURAGE CAMPAIGN SUPER PAC – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed February 15, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00523498/?tab=summary.
8. “Issues.” WAVE. Accessed February 15, 2019. https://wave4all.org/projects.
9. “Browse Receipts.” FEC.gov. Accessed February 15, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&cycle=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00523498&min_date=01/01/2017&max_date=12/31/2018&line_number=F3X-11AI.