Gardner to lead new GOP super PAC ahead of midterms

Former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) has joined the board of a new super PAC aimed at electing Republicans to the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms.

Gardner said he was moved to join the National Victory Action Fund (NVAF), which was launched by former Republican National Committee chief of staff Jeff Larson, because it has a new model of fundraising that he believes could have benefitted his own campaign in 2020, when he lost to now-Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).

“Out in Colorado, we had far-left groups from out of state saturating the airwaves with millions in television ads years before Election Day,” Gardner said. “When I finally had enough money to respond in kind, they had already influenced public opinion in a way that was almost impossible to overcome. I’m proud to join with NVAF because getting resources to campaigns is vital if we want to prevent this from happening to other candidates.”

The NVAF will solicit donations directly for the candidates they’re promoting, so ads will provide links and phone numbers that go directly to the campaign’s own fundraising page.

That strategy has been used with great success by Fair Fight, the super PAC led by Stacey Abrams.

The traditional super PAC model is to raise and spend money on behalf of the candidate, rather than directing money to the candidate.

But outside groups can’t coordinate with the campaigns and pay higher rates for television ads. By directing money straight to the campaigns, which pay lower rates, NVAF hopes to get GOP candidates on the airwaves earlier and at cheaper rates than the super PAC would pay.

“Our mission is to expand the party’s donor infrastructure by soliciting donations directly into candidates’ own campaign accounts, without coordinating with either their campaigns or party committees,” Larson said. “It’s our belief this is the most effective way to help the campaigns.”