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Political Party/527

State Tea Party Express

Website:

teapartyexpress.org/
Location:

Hilmar, CA
Tax ID:

45-320019
Type:

527 Organization
Founded:

2011 1

References

  1. Lorber, Janie. “Tea Party Express Launches New Ad Funded by 501(c)(4) That Hits Obama.” October 12, 2011. https://rollcall.com/2011/10/12/tea-party-express-launches-new-ad-funded-by-501c4-that-hits-obama/
Budget (2021):

Revenue: $22,841.45

Expenses: $310,883.19

Net Assets: $129,083.42 1

References

  1. State Tea Party Express. 2021 Form 990. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23462917-state-tea-party-express-2021-990

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The State Tea Party Express was launched in October 2011 as an arm of Tea Party Express. 1 The group was reportedly formed as a “social welfare” group, but tax documents in later years say it was a political organization. 2 3

State Tea Party Express was among the organizations that sponsored the “March to Save America,” a rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, to protest the outcome and conduct of the 2020 election, after which numerous attendees rioted at the U.S. Capitol. 4

Background

The State Tea Party Express was launched in October 2011 as an arm of the Tea Party Express organization. 5 Early press reports referred to the State Tea Party Express as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” nonprofit. 6 7 However, both the 2020 and 2021 tax returns list it as a 527 political organization. 8 9

The State Tea Party Express’s first TV ad campaign targeted then-President Barack Obama’s “jobs bill,” and compared it with the successful job-creation records of then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and then-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). 10

Parent Group

The Our Country Deserves Better PAC was founded in 2008 by Howard Kaloogian and Sal Russo and became Tea Party Express in 2009 during the Tea Party movement. 11

The Tea Party Express endorses conservative candidates and causes, and claims to support six principles: no more bailouts; reduce the size of government; stop raising taxes; repeal Obamacare; cease out-of-control spending; and bring back American prosperity. 12 13

In 2019, then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) sued Sal Russo and others alleging the group Move America Forward defrauded donors who contributed to a charity that sent packages to U.S. servicemembers. Russo called the charges “bogus” and politically motivated. 14 15

History

The Our Country Deserves Better Committee began during the 2008 election cycle. In February 2009, the OCDB changed its name to the Tea Party Express and joined with conservative group Free Republic to co-sponsor a Tea Party rally at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. 16

The group launched a bus tour in summer 2009 that involved two 45-foot buses as well as several RVs and SUVs in a caravan. 17

The Washington Post named the Tea Party Express one of the top five most influential organizations in the Tea Party movement in September 2010. 18

The Tea Party Express organized the Tea Party State of the Union responses to Obama’s State of the Union speeches. These were separate from the official Republican Party response speeches. 19

In the fall of 2011, the group joined CNN to co-host the CNN/Tea Party Presidential Debate in Tampa, Florida. 20

By late 2021, the Tea Party Express was a significantly smaller organization employing only a handful of people and had remained on the sidelines in recent election cycles, ProPublica reported. 21

January 6, 2021, Rally

The State Tea Party Express was among the organizations that sponsored the “March to Save America,” a demonstration protesting and contesting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election held in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. Julia Jenkins Fancelli reportedly helped fund three of those groups that organized the rally. 22

Out of Fancelli’s contribution, the Tea Party Express spent $179,879 on “Rally advertising production and advertising,” according to tax records obtained by the liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. A CREW press release stated that the rally reference, “appears to refer to January 6 events.” 23

The Tea Party Express spent most of Fancelli’s donation money on “radio and digital advertising,” including $30,000 on a peer-to-peer texting campaign targeted to “high-propensity [Donald] Trump rally goers.” 24

Sal Russo told the Washington Post that he gave records of Fancelli’s donation to the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot that followed the rally. He told the newspaper it was used for radio ads and social media urging supporters of then-President Donald Trump to attend the rally. The organization paid Virginia-based Go BIG Media to promote the rally on social media. It also used the money to buy radio advertisements targeted in the Washington D.C. region. Russo also told the Post he did not solicit the funding from Fancelli. He said the organization had worked closely in the past with some of the other January 6 rally organizers. Russo condemned the violence, the Post reported. He also said he wanted to “help build the crowd” for Trump and did not intend the overturn the election outcome. 25

Russo told ProPublica his group received money for the January 6, 2021, rally, but he was not aware of the funding sources or exactly how it was spent. 26

Funding

The nonprofit group CLA Inc. contributed $1.5 million to the State Tea Party Express in 2018. The principal officer of CLA Inc. was listed as Marc Himmelstein, a former executive at the American Petroleum Institute. CLA Inc. shares an address with National Environmental Strategies, a D.C. lobbying firm Himmelstein co-founded with former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R). 27

After getting the $1.5 million, the State Tea Party Express spent $1.46 million on political activity. Most of that was spent on helping Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) become the next House Republican leader, according to reporting by Rolling Stone magazine. 28

Julia Jenkins Fancelli, the daughter of late Publix Super Markets founder George Jenkins and heir to a $9 billion fortune, contributed $200,000 to the State Tea Party Express. 29

After the rally on January 6, 2021, tax documents show the State Tea Party Express did not appear to have any other activity during the remainder of 2021 and seemed to stop fundraising. 30

References

  1. Lorber, Janie. “Tea Party Express Launches New Ad Funded by 501(c)(4) That Hits Obama.” October 12, 2011. https://rollcall.com/2011/10/12/tea-party-express-launches-new-ad-funded-by-501c4-that-hits-obama/
  2. State Tea Party Express. 2020 Form 990. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21126450-stpe-2020-990
  3. State Tea Party Express. 2021 Form 990. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23462917-state-tea-party-express-2021-990
  4. Massaoglia, Anna. “Tax records reveal more contributions from Publix heiress to “dark money” groups sponsoring Jan. 6 rally.” Open Secrets. June 14, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/06/tax-records-reveal-more-contributions-from-publix-heiress-to-dark-money-groups-sponsoring-jan-6-rally/
  5. Lorber, Janie. “Tea Party Express Launches New Ad Funded by 501(c)(4) That Hits Obama.” October 12, 2011. https://rollcall.com/2011/10/12/tea-party-express-launches-new-ad-funded-by-501c4-that-hits-obama/
  6. Lorber, Janie. “Tea Party Express Launches New Ad Funded by 501(c)(4) That Hits Obama.” October 12, 2011. https://rollcall.com/2011/10/12/tea-party-express-launches-new-ad-funded-by-501c4-that-hits-obama/
  7. Kroll, Andy. “Revealed: The Secret Money Trail Behind Kevin McCarthy’s MAGA Makeover.” Rolling Stone. September 19, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/kevin-mccarthy-maga-trump-dark-money-speaker-1228371/
  8. State Tea Party Express. 2020 Form 990. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21126450-stpe-2020-990
  9. State Tea Party Express. 2021 Form 990. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23462917-state-tea-party-express-2021-990
  10. Lorber, Janie. “Tea Party Express Launches New Ad Funded by 501(c)(4) That Hits Obama.” October 12, 2011. https://rollcall.com/2011/10/12/tea-party-express-launches-new-ad-funded-by-501c4-that-hits-obama/
  11.  “Tea Party Express.” Library of Congress. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0017868/
  12. “Mission.” Tea Party Express. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://teapartyexpress.org/mission
  13. “Tea Party Express.” Bloomberg. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1217319D:US
  14. Kroll, Andy. “Revealed: The Secret Money Trail Behind Kevin McCarthy’s MAGA Makeover.” Rolling Stone. September 19, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/kevin-mccarthy-maga-trump-dark-money-speaker-1228371/
  15. White, Jeremy. “Becerra lawsuit alleges political firms diverted charity funds.” Politico. July 24, 2019. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.politico.com/states/california/whiteboard/2019/07/24/becerra-lawsuit-alleges-political-firms-diverted-charity-funds-9318539
  16. “History.” Tea Party Express. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://teapartyexpress.org/history
  17. Hornick, Ed. “’Tea Party Express’ trucks on with tour aimed at health care.” CNN. August 28, 2009. Accessed September 11, 2023. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/28/tea.party.express/
  18. Infographic. “The top national players in the tea party.” The Washington Post. September 26, 2010. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/09/26/GR2010092600175.html
  19.  “History.” Tea Party Express. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://teapartyexpress.org/history
  20. Lorber, Janie. “Tea Party Express Launches New Ad Funded by 501(c)(4) That Hits Obama.” October 12, 2011. https://rollcall.com/2011/10/12/tea-party-express-launches-new-ad-funded-by-501c4-that-hits-obama/
  21. Sapien, Joaquin and Kaplan, Joshua. “Top Trump Fundraiser Boasted of Raising $3 Million to Support Jan. 6 “Save America” Rally.” ProPublica. October 18, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/top-trump-fundraiser-boasted-of-raising-3-million-to-support-jan-6-save-america-rally
  22. Massaoglia, Anna. “Tax records reveal more contributions from Publix heiress to “dark money” groups sponsoring Jan. 6 rally.” Open Secrets. June 14, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/06/tax-records-reveal-more-contributions-from-publix-heiress-to-dark-money-groups-sponsoring-jan-6-rally/
  23. Davis, Walker. “Publix heiress-backed Jan. 6 group spent $180K on rally.” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. December 20, 2022. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/publix-heiress-backed-jan-6-group-spent-180k-on-rally/
  24. Massaoglia, Anna. “Tax records reveal more contributions from Publix heiress to “dark money” groups sponsoring Jan. 6 rally.” Open Secrets. June 14, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/06/tax-records-reveal-more-contributions-from-publix-heiress-to-dark-money-groups-sponsoring-jan-6-rally/
  25. Reinhard, Beth; Alemany, Jacqueline and Dawsey, Josh. “Low-profile heiress who ‘played a strong role’ in financing Jan. 6 rally is thrust into spotlight.” The Washington Post. December 8, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/publix-heiress-capitol-insurrection-fancelli/2021/12/08/5144fe1c-5219-11ec-8ad5-b5c50c1fb4d9_story.html
  26. Sapien, Joaquin and Kaplan, Joshua. “Top Trump Fundraiser Boasted of Raising $3 Million to Support Jan. 6 “Save America” Rally.” ProPublica. October 18, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/top-trump-fundraiser-boasted-of-raising-3-million-to-support-jan-6-save-america-rally
  27.  Kroll, Andy. “Revealed: The Secret Money Trail Behind Kevin McCarthy’s MAGA Makeover.” Rolling Stone. September 19, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/kevin-mccarthy-maga-trump-dark-money-speaker-1228371/
  28. Kroll, Andy. “Revealed: The Secret Money Trail Behind Kevin McCarthy’s MAGA Makeover.” Rolling Stone. September 19, 2021. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/kevin-mccarthy-maga-trump-dark-money-speaker-1228371/
  29. Massaoglia, Anna. “Tax records reveal more contributions from Publix heiress to “dark money” groups sponsoring Jan. 6 rally.” Open Secrets. June 14, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/06/tax-records-reveal-more-contributions-from-publix-heiress-to-dark-money-groups-sponsoring-jan-6-rally/
  30. Davis, Walker. “Publix heiress-backed Jan. 6 group spent $180K on rally.” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. December 20, 2022. Accessed September 11, 2023. https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/publix-heiress-backed-jan-6-group-spent-180k-on-rally/
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State Tea Party Express


Hilmar, CA