The Bench

Background

The Bench’s candidates in races across the country are meant to “help us [Democrats] repair our brand, they are best positioned to win general election races and hold onto seats,” but they do not even necessarily share a common ideology. ³The Bench-supported candidates include both more centrist and more left-wing politicians. ³It has recruited significantly younger candidates; none of them is older than 60. ⁴

The Bench is a hybrid PAC that mainly makes large donations to other PACs. ⁵ The group has worked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. ⁶

Activities

The Bench endorsed three candidates for U.S. Senate and several more for U.S. House, including Jamie Ager in North Carolina, Mallory McMorrow in Michigan, and James Talarico in Texas. ⁶ Additionally, the group has made campaign stops in Pennsylvania for Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate Bob Brooks, Minnesota for U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), and Iowa for U.S. Congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott. ⁷

The Bench is among the top two donors to the Fight for Nebraska PAC, a Super PAC that has spent over $1.2 million on advertising for Denise Powell in Nebraska’s 2nd U.S. Congressional district, and $653,000 as of May 2026 opposing her primary opponent, John Cavanaugh. ⁸

Financials

Hedge-fund manager Stephen Mandel gave $2 million to The Bench in January 2026, and the group received $200,000 from Democratic Turnout Project PAC in March 2026. ⁹ The PAC received $5,000 each from Chris Hughes of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy; businessman James Murdoch and his wife, left-of-center philanthropist Kathryn Murdoch; and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. ¹⁰The Bench received $500,000 from Better World Civic Trust. ¹¹

The Bench had given $500,000 to the Lone Star Rising PAC, as of May 2026. ¹²

Leadership

Andrew Mamo is a spokesperson, ⁶ Lis Smith is a senior advisor, ¹³ and Christopher Koob is treasurer. ⁹