Whether on your doorstep or in your mailbox, political fliers are impossible to avoid during a presidential election. In Hamilton County, one flier gained voters’ attention for all the wrong reasons.
The ad proclaimed “Tim Landsman’s Policies Are Dangerous,” and featured a photo of the U.S./Mexico border, alleging the candidate “prevented critical monitoring of terrorists entering our community,” among other things, later praising Republican candidate for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District Orlando Sonza.
There is no “Tim Landsman,” running in the 1st Congressional district. Sonza is running against Democratic incumbent Congressman Greg Landsman.
The flier circulated on social media, and eventually prompted an article from the Cincinnati Enquirer. Less discussed was the organization behind the ad: Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action).
In a statement, AFP Action brushed off the misspelling.
“Whether we call him Tim or Greg, his record is indistinguishable from the Biden-Harris agenda, and that’s all voters really need to know,” the statement reads.
Though Greg Landsman has outraised and outspent his Republican opponent, there’s one category in which Sonza surpasses him: outside spending. According to campaign finance researcher OpenSecrets, Sonza has received $314,716 in outside spending donations from AFP Action this election year. “Outside spending” refers to political expenditures made by groups or individuals independently of, and not coordinated with, candidates’ committees.
CityBeat asked Sonza how the support from AFP Action may influence his decision-making, if elected. Sonza said “My unwavering commitment and priorities have and always will be to my constituents. My time at West Point instilled in me the values of duty, honor, and country, and those values guide me to fulfill my obligation which is to serve my constituents—beholden to no one.”
What is Americans for Prosperity Action?
AFP Action is a super PAC (political action committee) that supports conservative candidates, and is an extension of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative libertarian advocacy group based in Arlington, Virginia.
Launched in 2018 as a “new tool to build broad policy coalitions in Congress to help advance [Americans for Prosperity’s] vision,” the group spent $10,074,629 that year. In 2024, AFP Action spent $131,504,333 supporting or opposing candidates across the United States. Nationally, AFP Action dedicated $10 million for ad campaigns opposing Democratic senators.
What is Americans for Prosperity?
Despite those impressive sums, AFP Action is only one facet of Americans for Prosperity’s sprawling operation.
A 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), was founded in 2004 as an offshoot of Citizens for a Sound Economy, an earlier advocacy group that existed from 1984 until its dissolution in the 2000s.
According to AFP’s latest IRS filing, the group has $112,622,507 in gross receipts, of which $108,216,150 came from contributions or grants.
Advertising itself as “a community of millions of concerned citizens advocating for solutions based on proven principles to tackle the country’s most critical challenges,” AFP promotes free-market economic policies, and decreasing or eliminating government regulations.
AFP has chapters in all fifty states, with more than 4 million advocates throughout, according to their website. The organization also employs lobbyists to draft legislation and work with lawmakers who support their policy goals. A 2016 investigation from CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) found that, from 2011 to 2015, the number of registered AFP lobbyists nationwide tripled. Research from OpenSecrets found AFP spent $720,000 on federal lobbying in 2024.
From its inception, AFP was a creation of Charles Koch and the now-deceased David Koch, co-owners of Kansas based conglomerate Koch Industries.
Currently the third-richest family in the United States, the Kochs, specifically patriarch Charles Koch, have become known for using their money to fund a network of right wing libertarian politicians, lobbying groups, think tanks and universities, collectively known as the “the Koch network,” or the “Kochtopus.”
An IRS donor list obtained by the National Journal in 2013 found that David Koch was the AFP’s top contributor, donating $850,000 in 2003. Speaking at AFP’s Defending the Dream Summit in 2009, David Koch acknowledged his role in creating the group, saying, “Five years ago my brother Charles and I provided the funds to start the Americans for Prosperity. And it’s beyond my wildest dreams how the AFP has grown into this enormous organization.”
AFP Action’s latest FEC filings show they received $40,000,000 from Koch Industries Inc., $25,000,000 from Stand Together Chamber of Commerce — another group considered part of the Koch network — and $8,496,852 from In Pursuit Of LLC, a marketing firm launched by Charles Koch.
Thanks to their funding and size, AFP has become one of the most influential conservative groups in the United States. AFP helped organize the Tea Party Movement into an effective political force, and spent $40 million on canvassing, rallies, and phone banks to win the 2010 Republican House majority. Statewide, in places like Wisconsin and Michigan, AFP have supported restricting collective bargaining rights for employees, and implementing “right to work” laws.
AFP have also opposed environmental regulation, producing the “No Climate Tax Pledge,” in 2008, asking signatories to “oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.” More than 400 lawmakers and candidates eventually signed on. Greenpeace, an environmentalist advocacy group, published a report based on IRS data showing that from 1997-2018, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation spent $6,330,584 supporting 90 groups which espoused climate denial or skepticism.
How is Americans for Prosperity Action spending on other Ohio races?
Numerous candidates in Ohio have benefited from Americans for Prosperity’s financial support, and been on the receiving end of their ire.
The list of candidates AFP Action are supporting, and opposing, in Ohio is as follows, according to data provided by OpenSecrets:
Supporting:
- Bernie Moreno (R-Senate): $11,184.556
- Kevin Coughlin (R-13th Congressional District): $432,716
- Derek Merrin (R-9th Congressional District): $330,674
- Orlando Sonza (R-1st Congressional District): $314,716
Opposing:
- Sherrod Brown (D-Senate): $6,112,393
- Emilia Sykes (D-13th Congressional District): $211,693
- Marcy Kaptur (D-9th Congressional District): $61,016
- Greg Landsman (D-1st Congressional District): $29,072
This article appears in Oct 16-29, 2024.
