Voices for Progress PAC is a political action committee and coordination group for left-of-center donors. It is affiliated with Voices for Progress, an advocacy project of the Tides Foundation-affiliated Advocacy Fund, and the Voices for Progress Education Fund, a nonprofit project of the Tides Center.

Voices for Progress PAC makes donations directly to candidates and other political action committees. While it was more active in previous election cycles, Voices for Progress PAC was barely active in the 2020 election cycle. The PAC only raised $13,000 in the entire 2020 election cycle and spent most of the money on to cover PAC expenses. ¹

Leadership and Organization

Voices for Progress PAC was founded in 2011 by Sanford “Sandy” Newman, the founder and then-president of Voices for Progress. ²

The treasurer of the PAC is Cathy Duvall. Duvall formerly worked as director of public advocacy of for the left-of-center Sierra Club, an environmentalist organization. Duvall is currently a founder and principal at Democracy Ascent Advisors, a left-wing political consulting firm. She also sits on the board of the liberal state-level policy group State Innovation Exchange. ³

The assistant treasurer of the PAC is Sarah Cotton, who also works as the political director and vice president of Voices for Progress. Cotton was previously chief operating officer and national director of Voices of Progress, where she led membership recruitment and fundraising efforts for the organization. Before joining Voices for Progress, Cotton was a finance director on multiple congressional campaigns and once worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as southern candidate services director. ⁴

The current president of Voices for Progress is Sandra Fluke, who is famous for her advocacy in support of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) mandate that all insurance providers cover birth control drugs and a resulting feud with Rush Limbaugh. Previously, Fluke helped launch the California chapter of Voices for Progress and its affiliated PAC in 2015. ⁵

The PAC is based in Washington, D.C. with an address on K Street, the home to numerous lobbying firms and other political organizations. ⁶ The main payment processor for the PAC is ActBlue, a staple fundraising tool of most left-of-center organizations and Democratic Party candidates and campaigns.

Political Spending

2012 Election Cycle

In the 2012 election cycle, the PAC raised $196,435. Donors to the PAC included investor and philanthropist David DesJardins, Democratic activists Daniel and Sunita Leeds, left-of-center philanthropist Megan Hull, pollster Ethel Klein, lawyer and philanthropist Claire Silberman, author Hal Malchow, actor Paul Rudd, businessman and left-wing activist Ritchie Tabachnick, left-wing scholar Robert Bowditch, and Sandy Newman. ⁷

The PAC spent $186,915.36 during the election cycle. Candidates who received funding from the PAC included U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The PAC also rented a list from the Campaign for America’s Future and made a $3,000 donation to the Council for A Livable World. ⁸

2014 Election Cycle

In the 2014 election cycle, the PAC raised $234,204. Ethel Klein, Claire Silberman, David DesJardins and Paul Rudd all donated again. Florida left-wing activist Chris Findlater, philanthropist Faye Straus, and California businessman Frank Patitucci also made large contributions. ⁹

The PAC spent $232,304.24 in the 2014 election cycle. Recipients included the Iowa Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Arkansas, the Colorado Democratic Party, the Alaska Democratic Party, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). The PAC made an additional $3,000 donation to the Council for A Livable World. ¹⁰

2016 Election Cycle

In the 2016 election cycle, the PAC raised $165,697. Businessman Daniel Wolf and left-wing activist and businesswoman Barbara Grasseschi made large contributions. The PAC also relied heavily on small-dollar donations. ¹¹

The PAC spent $174,406.87 in the election cycle. The PAC sent contributions to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), the DCCC, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), then-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D—CA), U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). ¹²

2018 Election Cycle

In the 2018 election cycle, the PAC raised $120,001. Philanthropist and left-wing activist Paula Litt was a major contributor. Small dollar donations to Voices for Progress PAC were not a factor in this cycle. ¹³

The PAC spent $96.720.83, supporting candidates including U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. Warren, Sen. Tester, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), the DCCC, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund Federal PAC, the DSCC, Sen. Brown, Sen. Heinrich, Sen. Kane, Sen. Murphy, and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). ¹⁴

2020 Election Cycle

In the 2020 election cycle, the PAC only raised $13,000 from three contributors. ¹⁵

The PAC spent $11,718.39 with $9,000 spent on contribution refunds and expenses. The PAC contributed to the DCCC, the Biden presidential campaign, and U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (D—CA). ¹⁶

1. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=spending&cycle=2020.
2.            Statement Of Organization. 2011. Ebook. Federal Election Commission. https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/899/11030660899/11030660899.pdf.
3. “Cathy Duvall”. 2021. Linkedin. Accessed January 18. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
4. “Staff”. 2021. Voices For Progress. Accessed January 18. https://voicesforprogress.org/staff-advisors/.
5. “Staff”. 2021. Voices For Progress. Accessed January 18. https://voicesforprogress.org/staff-advisors/.
6. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=about-committee&cycle=2020.
7. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2012.
8. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2012.
9. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2014.
10. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2014.
11. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2016.
12. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2016.
13. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2018.
14. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=summary&cycle=2018.
15. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=spending&cycle=2020.
16. “VOICES FOR PROGRESS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE – Committee Overview”. 2021. Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 18. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00501676/?tab=spending&cycle=2020.