Club for Growth Action is an independent-expenditure only committee or
Super PAC
Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...
with a stated mission of "defeating big-government politicians and replacing them with pro-growth, limited government conservatives."
[ Club for Growth Action spends money running political advertising campaigns in congressional races throughout the country.]
Founded in August 2010, Club for Growth Action is an arm of the Club for Growth
The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.
Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...
.
Political action
Club for Growth Action states that it is “dedicated to a single mission: beating big government politicians” of both parties. The group targets mostly Republicans in primaries and Democrats in the general election.[ It initially opposed Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential primaries.
In February 2013, Club for Growth Action launched a website called “PrimaryMyCongressman.com." Club for Growth president Chris Chocola said the website would "serve as a tool to hold opponents of economic freedom and limited government accountable for their actions.” According to Club for Growth Action, the website will "rotate liberal Republicans through the website to highlight their failed records on limiting government." The first nine targets were Republicans Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a voluble ]Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
foe, plus Mike Simpson
Michael Keith Simpson (born September 8, 1950) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1999. The district covers most of the eastern portion of the state, including Idaho Fa ...
, Rick Crawford, Frank Lucas, Steven Palazzo
Steven McCarty Palazzo ( ; born February 21, 1970) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district included Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Laurel and Hattiesburg. Pal ...
, Martha Roby, Larry Bucshon, Renee Ellmers, and Aaron Schock
Aaron Jon Schock (born May 28, 1981) is a former American politician who was Republican Party (United States), Republican United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative for from 2009 until 2015. The district is based in Peoria, Illi ...
.
Expenditures
Club for Growth Action has spent millions of dollars on independent expenditures in support of candidates endorsed by the Club for Growth PAC. Those candidates include Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
, Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. represen ...
, Jeff Flake
Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the United States House of Repr ...
, Tom Cotton
Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...
, Chris McDaniel, Dan Sullivan, and Ben Sasse.
In 2015, after Mike Huckabee
Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...
announced he was running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Club for Growth Action announced a $100,000 ad buy critical of Huckabee's tax record.
Club for Growth Action was critical of Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's candidacy, announcing a $1 million advertising buy against his campaign in September 2015. In March 2016, the Club for Growth aired $1.5 million worth of anti-Trump advertisements in Florida. The Club for Growth Action also ran anti-Trump advertisements in Illinois and Wisconsin. In April 2016, Club for Growth Action announced a $1.5 million anti-Trump advertising buy in Indiana in advance of that state's presidential primary. The group's advertisements highlighted Trump's support for liberal policies, such as a single-payer health insurance system and tax increases.
In the 2022 election cycle, Club for Growth Action spent a total of $81,355,585 in independent expenditures. These have included generating television ads against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, Democratic U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Nevada, a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Pa ...
, and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pat McCrory.
Funding
Club for Growth Action used to receive in-kind contributions from the Club for Growth, but now it receives all of its funding from individual donors.[ The Center for Public Integrity gave Club for Growth Action a high transparency grade for "significant disclosure." Top donors to Club for Growth Action in 2022 include Jeff Yass, Richard Uihlein, and Virginia James.]
References
External links
*{{official, http://www.clubforgrowth.org/about/club-for-growth-action
Profile
at Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...
Club for Growth Action at FactCheck.org
Campaign finance
at OpenSecrets.org
Independent expenditures
at OpenSecrets.org
Political organizations based in the United States
United States political action committees