Democratic Victory PAC

Background

Democratic Victory PAC was established on August 2, 2020 as a political action committee with an address in Washington, D.C. Though the organization initially filed its Statement of Organization with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a multi-candidate committee, as of October 2024 the FEC noted that per the organization’s filing that month the committee did not quality as such. ^{2 3}

During the 2024 presidential election cycle, the organization operated as a “Carey Committee,” supporting the Democratic Party nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. ⁴

Activities

During the 2024 presidential election cycle, Democratic Victory PAC drew criticism for its relatively sizeable spending on luxury donor services while simultaneously soliciting donations under the pretense of being behind on its fundraising goals. Instances of such expenditures included $213,093 on lodging and $11,300 on a venue rental at the ARIA Resorts and Casino in Las Vegas, $736,545 on an event space rental and $41,235 on costs associated with a private viewing suite in connection with the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, $116,635 for lodging at the Las Vegas Waldorf Astoria, $20,670 for travel costs at the New Orleans Ritz-Carlton, $19,127 at the Eu Palm Beach Resort in Florida, $6,000 for chauffer services, and $71,701 on Ticketmaster. ¹

According to reporting from The Bulwark, many of these expenses at luxury hotels coincided with pictures on social media posted by Ryan Morgan, an officer of Democratic Victory PAC, of himself and his spouse at these locations. ¹

In response to reports of the organization’s spending, Democratic Victory PAC faced criticism from Democratic Party-aligned activists and operatives. CEO of digital advertising platform Civic Shout Josh Nelson characterized the organization’s actions as “brazen” and “egregious.” ¹

In October 2024, ActBlue, a fundraising platform for Democratic Party-aligned organizations and causes, stopped allowing Democratic Victory PAC to fundraise through its platform following a determination that the organization had been misusing its tools under the platform’s account use policies. ⁵

Financials

As of October 2024, in the 2023-2024 period of the 2024 election cycle, Democratic Victory PAC began with $3,562,715 cash on hand, raised $10,459,546, and spent a total of $13,148,167 including $275,721 on independent expenditures. ⁴

Leadership

Ryan Morgan is an officer of Democratic Victory PAC as well as the founder of the data list firm PACtion, founder of the digital advertising firm Veracity Media, and an officer involved with other Democratic Party-aligned political action committees that have drawn criticism for sizeable luxury expenditures, namely Democratic Power, Democratic Congress, and Democrats United. Additionally, Morgan is an adviser to the Campaign for Free College Tuition in which capacity he helps the organization fundraise and develop its website. ^{6 7}

Steven Mele is the treasurer of Democratic Victory PAC as well as a partner with MBA Consulting Group, a political finance compliance firm. Previously, he was the treasurer of the “No on Prop 8” Committee in California and a member of the boards of Equality California, the Equality California Institute, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. ^{8 9}