Creative Majority PAC is Democratic super PAC founded in 2016 by Democratic political consultant Scott Goodstein. ¹Creative Majority PAC’s FEC filings indicate that most of its donations go into a for-profit digital ad corporation, Revolution Messaging, which was also founded and formerly managed by Scott Goodstein. ²

The super PAC identifies itself as “a PAC of the Creative Class,” and claims that it is a nontraditional political organization. ³ Creative Majority PAC has contributed relatively small amounts to its own political activities relative to what it gives to the much larger Revolution Messaging, but the PAC itself has spent $20,000 opposing President Trump. In 2017, the PAC paid Laura Moser $15,000 for “consulting services”; Moser would launch an unsuccessful Democratic primary campaign for Congress in Texas. ⁴

Background

Creative Majority PAC was founded in 2016 by Scott Goodstein and spent most of its revenue for services from the for-profit company, Revolution Messaging. Revolution Messaging and Creative Majority PAC supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in his Democratic primary campaign for the presidency and later Robert “Beto” O’Rourke in his Senate 2018 campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). ⁵

Political Activities

Creative Majority PAC originally spent $20,000 in independent expenditures against Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. The Center for Responsive Politics also reports that the only other direct political contribution for the 2018 midterm elections was $4,391 to Laura Moser in a failed Democratic primary campaign. FEC data indicates that 66 percent of the PAC’s total budget during the 2017-2018 election cycle was spent for Revolution Messaging’s services. ⁶

Creative Majority nonprofit

In 2012, Scott Goodstein filed an application to create a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization called Creative Majority. ⁷ According to District of Columbia Government records, the corporation status was revoked in September 2015, less then a year before the launch of Creative Majority PAC. While the nonprofit version of Creative Majority has no record of receiving federal nonprofit status, Revolution Messaging continues to operate the Creative Majority nonprofit website and solicit donations. ⁸

According to 2017 FEC reports, Creative Majority PAC donated $10,000 to this nonprofit, years after the original license of incorporation was revoked and with no federal IRS validation of its nonprofit status. The Capital Research Center (disclosure) filed a complaint with the IRS after Creative Majority (the 501(c)(4)) refused to provide documentation required to be made public under federal regulations for nonprofit organizations, including its application to the IRS for tax-exempt status . ⁹

Revolution Messaging

As of the 2017-2018 election cycle, Creative Majority PAC has spent nearly two thirds of its total expenditures for services from Revolution Messaging. Both organizations were founded by Scott Goodstein; until his resignation in 2018, Goodstein managed both groups. ¹⁰

Key People

Scott Goodstein

Scott Goodstein is a Democratic political consultant and the founder of Creative Majority PAC and Revolution Messaging. Previously, Goodstein founded the leftist Catalyst Campaigns group and worked as the external online director for President Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign. ¹¹

In June 2018, Goodstein resigned from his leadership position at Revolution Messaging. ¹² He resigned after Revolution employees made numerous allegations about a hostile work environment at the firm, including an allegation that the firm retaliated against a female employee who accused a coworker of sexual assault. ¹³

Keegan Goudiss

Keegan Goudiss serves as the treasurer of Creative Majority PAC and also works as a managing partner at Revolution Messaging. Previously, Goudiss worked at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and also served as the director of digital advertising for Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. ¹⁴

Laura Moser

Laura Moser is the founder of the Creative Majority PAC project Daily Action as well as the wife of key Revolution Messaging figure Arun Chaudhary. Moser competed in the 2018 democratic primary for Texas’s seventh congressional district on a left-wing platform inspired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont). During her campaign, she officially received just under $5,000 from the PAC, though she was also receiving $15,000 in “consulting services.” ¹⁵ Moser lost in a primary runoff to attorney Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, who would win the general election. ¹⁶

Funding

Creative Majority PAC reported a large increase in total donations between 2016 and 2018. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the PAC originally received a total of $60,000 from Scott Goodstein’s firm Revolution Messaging and Working for Working Americans. ¹⁷ The total revenue more than doubled in 2018, with the PAC receiving $82,500 from Moveon.Org Political Action and another $25,000 from Revolution Messaging. ¹⁸ Over the 2017-2018 election cycle, the PAC received over $184,000. ¹⁹

1. “Creative Majority.” Creative Majority PAC. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://creativemajoritypac.com/.
2. “Creative Majority PAC.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed March 18, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00619759&cycle=2018.
3. “Creative Majority.” Creative Majority PAC. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://creativemajoritypac.com/.
4. “Browse Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 18, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00619759&recipient_name=laura Moser&min_date=01/01/2017&max_date=12/31/2018.
5. Ludwig, Hayden. “The Bernie Revolution’s Consultant of Choice.” Capital Research Center. November 16, 2018. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-bernie-revolutions-consultant-of-choice/.
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7. “Creative Majority.” Creative Majority. https://creativemajority.com/
8. Kazenoff, Harry. “Creative Majority’s Creative Deception.” Capital Research Center. January 25, 2019. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/creative-majoritys-creative-deception/.
9. Kazenoff, Harry. “Creative Majority’s Creative Compliance Evasion.” Capital Research Center. January 25, 2019. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/creative-majoritys-creative-compliance-evasion/.
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12. Cramer, Ruby. “After Internal Upheaval, The Founder Of The Firm Behind Bernie 2016 Is Leaving.” BuzzFeed News. August 31, 2018. Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/rev-messaging-goodstein.
13. Cramer, Ruby. “Two Years Ago, Revolution Messaging Helped Bernie Raise Millions. Now They’re In Crisis.” BuzzFeed News. July 07, 2018. Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/revolution-messaging.
14. “Revolution Messaging to Lead Digital Efforts For Bernie Sanders’ Presidential Campaign.” Revolution Messaging. May 2015. Accessed March 18, 2019. https://revolutionmessaging.com/press/revolution-messaging-to-lead-digital-efforts-for-bernie-sanders-presidential-campaign/.
15. “Browse Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 18, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00619759&recipient_name=laura Moser&min_date=01/01/2017&max_date=12/31/2018.
16. “Texas Primary Election Results: Seventh House District.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/texas-house-district-7-primary-election
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18. “Receipts.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 22, 2019. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00619759&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=12%2F31%2F2018
19. “Creative Majority PAC.” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed March 18, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00619759&cycle=2018.