Defend the Vote is a political action committee (PAC) that supports Democratic Party candidates for federal and state offices, as well as organizations that oppose efforts to increase election security. ¹ It is part of the Defend the Vote family of Democratic Party-aligned organizations, along with the Defend the Vote Action Fund hybrid PAC and Defend the Vote Leadership Fund joint fundraising committee. ²

Its founder, Brian Lemek, is a Democratic Party operative who was formerly the vice president for development at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the founding executive director of its associated Brady PAC political action committee. ³

Background

Defend the Vote was launched in 2021, but was not fully active until after the 2022 election cycle. ³ It is not related to Defend the Vote Inc., a defunct Illinois-based organization that had its 501(c)(3) status revoked by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2016 for failing to file annual returns. ⁴

Its founder is Brian Lemek, who as of 2025 was its executive director. Lemek is a Democratic Party operative who was formerly the vice president for development at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the founding executive director of its associated Brady PAC political action committee. ³ Lemek is also the founder and treasurer of the Stop Gun Violence PAC, which is listed as an “affiliated organization” in Defend the Vote’s Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. ^{3 5}

Defend the Vote’s goal in the 2026 election is to be the largest “electoral pro-democracy” organization making donations to Democratic candidates for federal office. ^{6 7}

Election Spending

2024 Election

Along with Defend the Vote Action Fund, Defend the Vote claims to have raised and spent $7.4 million during the 2024 election cycle. Its post-election report claims roughly 110,000 individual donors made more than 450,000 separate donations. ⁶

Defend the Vote endorsed and donated to 140 Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in 2024, of whom 108 won their elections. ⁶

In the 2024 cycle, Defend the Vote made $3.1 million in contributions to candidate campaigns and allied organizations. ⁶

The Defend the Vote family of organizations and their partners reported $4.2 million in independent expenditures against Republican candidates and in favor of their Democratic opponents during the 2024 elections. ⁶

In 2024, Defend the Vote, DemocracyFIRST, and the Environmental Defense Fund’s EDF Action Votes combined to run $1.1 million in negative advertising in Pennsylvania’s 10^th District against Republican U.S. Representative Scott Perry (R-PA). ⁸ Perry defeated his Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson by a 50.5 percent to 49.3 percent margin. ⁹

That same cycle, in Wisconsin’s 3^rd District Defend the Vote and DemocracyFIRST ran $700,000 in ads against Republican incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI). ¹⁰ Van Orden defeated Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke by a 51.3 percent to 48.6 percent margin. ¹¹

2025 Election

As of March 2025, Defend the Vote declared that it would be supporting former U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia in the November 2025 election. ¹²

2026 Election

In 2025, Defend the Vote and Defend the Vote Action Fund publicly stated their intention to raise a combined $10 million to support Democratic Party candidates during the 2026 election cycle. Their goals include winning Democratic majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. ⁷

Defend the Vote raised a reported $805,497 between January 1 and March 31, 2005. ¹³

Partners

Defend the Vote and Defend the Vote Action Fund financially support federal and state-level Democratic Party committees, as well as Democratic-aligned organizations across the country. ¹

These partners include the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, ASPIRE PAC (formerly  Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Leadership PAC), Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Congressional Black Caucus Institute, Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC (CPC PAC), One APIA Nevada, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Arizona Native Vote, Black Economic Alliance, Bold Democrats, Democracy FIRST PAC, Equality PAC, Elect Democratic Women PAC, Future Forum, Latino Victory Fund, Leaders We Deserve, Mi Familia Vota, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, New Democrat Coalition, Progress Action Fund, Strong Democracy Foundation, Florida Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Illinois, Iowa Democratic Party, Michigan Democratic Party, Nebraska Democratic Party, Nevada Democratic Party, and Wisconsin Democratic Party. ¹

1. “DTV and DTV Action Fund Partners.” Defend The Vote. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://wedefendthevote.org/dtv-and-dtv-action-fund-partners/.
2. “About Us.” Defend The Vote. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://wedefendthevote.org/about/.
3. Lemek, Brian. “Brian Lemek – Executive Director, Defend The Vote (PAC) & President, Defend The Vote Action Fund (C4) – Defend the Vote | Linkedin.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianlemek/.
4.  “IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search Results for EIN 45-2880095.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.
5. “STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION – Defend the Vote.” Federal Election Commission, January 9, 2025. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/691/201510139002853691/201510139002853691.pdf.
6. “2024 Cycle Report.” Defend The Vote, December 2024. https://wedefendthevote.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Defend-The-Vote-2024-Cycle-Report-1.pdf.
7. “2026 Goals.” Defend The Vote. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://wedefendthevote.org/goals/.
8. Lemek, Brian. “New $1.1 Million Ad Campaign Holds Perry Accountable for Extreme Efforts to Overturn Election.” Defend The Vote, October 2, 2024. https://wedefendthevote.org/new-1-1-million-ad-campaign-holds-perry-accountable-for-extreme-efforts-to-overturn-election/.
9. “Scott Perry.” Ballotpedia. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Scott_Perry.
10. Lemek, Brian. “In New AD, Van Orden Makes Case against Himself.” Defend The Vote, October 25, 2024. https://wedefendthevote.org/in-new-ad-van-orden-makes-case-against-himself/.
11. “Derrick Van Orden.” Ballotpedia. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Derrick_Van_Orden.
12. Lemek, Brian. “Defend the Vote Endorses Spanberger for Governor.” Defend The Vote, March 28, 2025. https://wedefendthevote.org/defend-the-vote-endorses-spanberger-for-governor/.
13. “Defend the Vote – Committee Overview.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed April 21, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00764233/?tab=summary.