The Democratic Coalition is a Democratic super PAC that was created to oppose then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016. The organization has been criticized for directing an inordinate amount of the funds its raises to salaries and consulting firms instead of independent expenditures in support of Democratic candidates. ¹

History

Created as the Keep America Great PAC in 2016, ² the Democratic Coalition is a super PAC founded to prevent the election of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. ³ Co-founder Jon Cooper claimed that the organization was unique because it “is literally a grassroots‘ stop Trump’ movement.” ⁴

After the 2020 presidential election, the organization’s focus shifted to advancing President Joe Biden’s agenda as well as supporting other Democratic candidates across the country. To that end, the organization allegedly uses tactics including “digital and traditional advertising, grassroots action, in-depth opposition research, and a nationwide rapid-response team.”

The organization came under fire for raising more than $750,000 between 2017-2018 but spending only $2,350 on independent political expenditures in 2017. ⁵ In the same period, much of the funds raised went to the organization’s employees or to consulting firms, notably executive director Scott Dworkin’s firm Bulldog Finance Group. ⁶

On October 21, 2022, Democratic Coalition Executive Director Scott Dworkin was part of a White House-hosted social media summit with the heads of nearly two-dozen Democrat-aligned social media sites and groups. Others present at the summit included Executive Editor of Occupy Democrats Grant Sternas well as the co-founders of anti-Trump group MeidasTouch Ben, Brett, and Jordan Meiselas. ^{7 8} Previously, in October 2022, senator-elect John Fetterman’s (D., Pa.) Campaign Manager Brendan McPhillips labeled Democratic Coalition a “Scam PAC” and “grifters” ⁹ for “using John’s name and likeness for their own fundraising.” ¹⁰ According to financial records, of the $375,000 Democratic Coalition raised, only $2,840 was spent on campaign ads for senator-elect Fetterman whilst $65,000 was given to Dworkin’s consulting firm Bulldog Finance Group. ¹¹

Outreach

The Democratic Coalition created the Impeachment Task Force in response to then-President Trump’s Impeachment Defense Task Force, which was created by Trump to rally support amid impeachment inquiries. In 2019, the Impeachment Task Force ran a pro-impeachment TV spot on CNN and the ad garnered more than five million views online. ¹²

In 2021, the Democratic Coalition used the hashtag “#RespectBiden” on Twitter to support Biden following an NBC News poll showing his job approval rating dipping below fifty percent. At one point, the hashtag was #2 in the U.S. and #9 worldwide on Twitter. ¹³

Finances

In the 2015-2016 election cycle, the Democratic Coalition received more than $183,000 in total receipts. ¹⁴ The following cycle, the organization more than quadrupled its receipts to more than $754,000. ¹⁵ During the 2019-2020 election cycle it reported more than $780,000 in total receipts. ¹⁶ As of August 2022, the Democratic Coalition reported more than $326,000 in total receipts for the 2022 election cycle. ¹⁷

Leadership

Scott Dworkin is the co-founder and executive director of the Democratic Coalition. He was the deputy director for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee and the 2012 Democratic National Convention. ¹⁸ Dworkin is also the founder of Bulldog Finance Group, a consulting firm providing fundraising and outreach services. ¹⁹

Jon Cooper, the Democratic Coalition’s founding chairman, was a former Democratic majority leader of New York’s Suffolk County Legislature. He was the Long Island campaign chairman for President Barack Obama and, in 2020, he left the Democratic Coalition to work for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. ²⁰

1. ^[1] Stein, Sam, and Lachlan Markay. “Cash for Coalition against Trump Going into Consultants’ Pockets Instead.” The Daily Beast. February 7, 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/cash-for-coalition-against-trump-going-into-consultants-pockets-instead.
2. FEC, “Statement of Organization, KAG PAC,” accessed July 5, 2016. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/294/201603259011993294/201603259011993294.pdf
3. “About.” Democratic Coalition. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.democraticcoalition.org/about.html.
4. Feldman, Linda. “A New Super PAC Aims to Defeat Trump, Small Donation by Small Donation.” Christian Science Monitor. July 6, 2016. https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0706/A-new-super-PAC-aims-to-defeat-Trump-small-donation-by-small-donation.
5. Stein, Sam, and Lachlan Markay. “Cash for Coalition against Trump Going into Consultants’ Pockets Instead.” The Daily Beast. February 7, 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/cash-for-coalition-against-trump-going-into-consultants-pockets-instead
6.  Stein, Sam, and Lachlan Markay. “Cash for Coalition against Trump Going into Consultants’ Pockets Instead.” The Daily Beast. February 7, 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/cash-for-coalition-against-trump-going-into-consultants-pockets-instead.
7. Kerr, Andrew. “Meet the Democratic Grifters Who Profited From the 2022 Midterms.” The Washington Free Beacon, November 17, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/meet-the-democratic-grifters-who-profited-from-the-2022-midterms/
8. Oprysko, Caitlin. “White House hosts Dem operative whose group Fetterman camp slammed as grifters.” Politico, October 21, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/21/white-house-operative-fetterman-grifters-00063005
9. Oprysko, Caitlin. “Fetterman campaign to Dem super PAC: Drop dead.” Politico, October 14, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/14/fetterman-camp-goes-after-dem-super-pac-accuses-them-of-grifting-00061931
10. Oprysko, Caitlin. “Fetterman campaign to Dem super PAC: Drop dead.” Politico, October 14, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/14/fetterman-camp-goes-after-dem-super-pac-accuses-them-of-grifting-00061931
11. Kerr, Andrew. “Meet the Democratic Grifters Who Profited From the 2022 Midterms.” The Washington Free Beacon, November 17, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/elections/meet-the-democratic-grifters-who-profited-from-the-2022-midterms/
12. Muñoz, Gabriella. “Impeachment Task Force Aiming to Get pro-Impeachment AD on Fox News.” Washington Times. October 25, 2019. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/25/impeachment-task-force-aiming-get-pro-impeachment-/
13. Campos, Giulia. “Biden’s Approval Ratings Slide to New Lows.” International Business Times. August 23, 2021. https://www.ibtimes.com/joe-bidens-approval-rating-president-slides-new-lows-respectbiden-trends-twitter-3279361.
14. “The Democratic Coalition – Committee Overview 2015-2016.” FEC.gov. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612846/?tab=summary&cycle=2016.
15. “The Democratic Coalition – Committee Overview 2017-2018.” FEC.gov. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612846/?cycle=2018.
16. “The Democratic Coalition – Committee Overview 2019-2020.” FEC.gov. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612846/?tab=summary&cycle=2020.
17. “The Democratic Coalition – Committee Overview 2021-2022.” FEC.gov. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00612846/?tab=summary&cycle=2022.
18. “About.” Democratic Coalition. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.democraticcoalition.org/about.html.
19. “Our Founder.” BullDogFinance. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.bulldogfinancegroup.com/our-founder.
20. “About.” Democratic Coalition. Accessed August 12, 2022. https://www.democraticcoalition.org/about.html.