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In Case You Missed It, Politico did a deep dive into Big Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and his scheme to prop up his Silicon Valley cronies, including J.D. Vance. Thiel, who has been linked to many prominent far-right and white nationalist leaders, is now using his vast wealth to create a new political class of politicians made up of his fellow Big Tech elite.

“Thiel’s private power-brokering illustrated his growing influence in Republican politics, but his clout has become even clearer in the weeks since. Thiel has given a pair of $10 million donations to separate super PACs that are backing Vance and Arizona Republican Blake Masters, another protégé poised to launch a Senate campaign. The contributions are the most ever to outside groups supporting single Senate candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political giving,” writes Alex Isenstadt for Politico.

Politico’s article comes as Vance announced he’s ‘exploring a run’ for U.S. Senate last week, propped up by a $10 million donation from Thiel. While Vance tries to keep up his populist facade in part by railing against Big Tech, he’s clearly at the center of an effort by Thiel to create a new political class of Big Tech elites.

Read the story from Politico HERE and more below:

• Ohio Republican J.D. Vance didn’t go it alone when he trekked to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for a meeting with the former president earlier this spring — the soon-to-be Senate candidate was accompanied by his mentor and political benefactor Peter Thiel.
• Thiel, a tech billionaire and longtime Trump backer, had arranged the sit-down, which came five years after Vance declared that he had “no love” for Trump.
• Thiel’s private power-brokering illustrated his growing influence in Republican politics, but his clout has become even clearer in the weeks since. Thiel has given a pair of $10 million donations to separate super PACs that are backing Vance and Arizona Republican Blake Masters, another protégé poised to launch a Senate campaign. The contributions are the most ever to outside groups supporting single Senate candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political giving.
• The tech investor’s profile in donor circles grew during the 2016 election, when he contributed around $1.5 million to pro-Trump outfits and spoke at the Republican National Convention.
• But Thiel’s latest contributions stem not only from his growing political involvement but from his closeness with Vance and Masters. Vance became acquainted with Thiel when he was at Yale Law School and then went to work for Thiel in Silicon Valley; Thiel later became an investor in Vance’s venture capital firm. 
• Within Republican circles, Thiel is seen as an unconventional donor. Unlike other major givers, he lacks a singular political adviser or gatekeeper for candidates looking to court him.
• It’s unclear whether Thiel’s $10 million donations are a one-time investment — or if more money is on the way.

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Columbus, OH — Today, Frank LaRose announced his bid for re-election as Ohio’s top elections official at the same time he’s playing politics with Ohio’s elections. LaRose is promoting regressive legislation that rolls back voting rights in Ohio while at the same time trying to claim credit for the 2020 election. If LaRose believes the 2020 elections were safe and secure, why push radical legislation that puts unnecessary burdens on voters in the name of ‘election security’? Politics. 

On Saturday, several speakers at a Strongsville GOP event called for a primary opponent for LaRose. As an attempt to win those Republicans back, he’s pushing this anti-voter legislation as a wink and a nod to those who believe the election was stolen from President Trump. That’s why he remains silent as candidates in his own party continue to claim the election was stolen, as Josh Mandel did on Saturday. 

“Frank LaRose is playing politics with Ohioans’ right to vote and doesn’t deserve another term as Ohio Secretary of State. Any politician that would push legislation that rolls back Ohioans’ right to vote has no business overseeing elections in our state. LaRose has proven that he’s willing to do or say anything to help himself, including negotiate away Ohioans’ rights at the ballot box,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party

The anti-voter bill LaRose is pushing, described as ‘fixing a problem that doesn’t exist’ is more extreme than the widely-panned Florida and Georgia versions. The legislation would make it harder for Ohioans to vote by:

• Eliminating a day of early voting on the Monday before Election Day,
• Cutting off Ohioans’ ability to request an absentee ballot 10 days out from an election, removing a week that Ohioans were previously able to request an absentee ballot,
• Requiring two forms of ID for online absentee ballot requests,
• Prohibiting anyone but the Secretary of State from providing prepaid postage for absentee ballot request returns and providing no funding for the Secretary to be able to do so,
• Codifying Frank LaRose’s nonsensical limit of one dropbox location per county that can only be used in cases of emergency, but making a confusing exception to the rule 10 days out from an election, and
• Forcing Ohioans to opt-in to ‘automated’ voter registration through the BMV, meaning voter registration isn’t automated at all.

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Columbus, OH — Today, Josh Mandel once again showed there’s no low he won’t stoop to, as he shared the same stage as Matt Gaetz, even as other Republican candidates backed out of the Strongsville GOP event amid serious federal allegations against Gaetz. Federal law enforcement officials are looking into allegations that Gaetz engaged in sex trafficking, prostitution, public corruption and sex with a minor.

“Josh Mandel stood on a stage in Strongsville and had harsher words for Mike DeWine than he did for Matt Gaetz. That says a lot about Josh Mandel and what he really stands for. Josh is always looking out for himself and there’s no line he won’t cross to promote his own interests,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Mandel also continued to employ dangerous rhetoric as he went after a member of the Ohio press corps and made the audience aware multiple times that the reporter was in the audience. This comes after Josh tweeted a photo of himself at a gun store with the caption ‘hunting RINOs.’

The event showed just how deep the divisions in the GOP run, as speakers spent most of their time going after fellow Republicans, including Anthony Gonzalez, Mike DeWine and Frank LaRose as Republicans remain in deep disarray about the future of the party.

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Columbus, OH — Today, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and state parties, including the Ohio Democratic Party, announced a historic four-year agreement that will guarantee more investment into Democratic state parties and grassroots infrastructure than ever before. At a minimum, this investment will provide $23 million to state parties as part of Democrats’ 2022 midterm strategy, and creates a first-of-its-kind program to focus additional investments in historically red states to build on Democrats’ 57 states and territories strategy.

The agreement will establish a brand-new, seven-figure “Red State Fund” to put Republicans on defense and build tailored programs for traditionally Republican states. The Red State Fund includes $2 million in direct investments and grants for states that meet two of the following criteria: no Democratic senator or governor, less than 25% of the congressional delegation are Democrats, and a supermajority of Republicans in their state legislature.

The contract also includes a data sharing agreement that increases investment in down-ballot races, solidifies another four years of historic investment in Democratic data, and anchors the DNC and state parties as the central hub of the Democratic data ecosystem.

“This critical investment will help us hold Republicans accountable, take our case directly to Ohio voters and invest in key races for Democrats across the state,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters.

Additional investments in the agreement include:

• $15.5 Million for State Partnership Program (SPP): The new agreement increases monthly SPP funding for 50 state parties and DC by 25% to fund critical party infrastructure including staff, tools, and programming in the states.
• $5.5 Million for State Party Innovation Fund Grants: These grants will ensure innovation and early organizing by putting more boots on the ground throughout the country to help elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2022. The program includes $5 million in funding for all 50 state parties plus the District of Columbia, along with an additional $500,000 for Dems Abroad and the territories. These competitive grants will primarily be used to hire staff in state to develop and implement innovative programs tailored for each state.
• Reestablishes the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund: The agreement is contingent on the Democratic state parties rejoining the joint fundraising agreement that propelled the DNC to record-breaking major donor fundraising over the last four years, and allows the DNC to collect up to $875,000 per individual per year.

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Tweet thread by NBC News’ Henry Gomez can be found HERE

Columbus, OH — Today, Big Tech’s favorite candidate J.D. Vance came out with a campaign strategy that’s never been tried in Ohio: fighting for Michigan first. The tech blunder occurred as Vance was using old web templates from a former state rep candidate, the kind of mistake that apparently even $10 million from Big Tech Billionaire Peter Theil can’t fix.

The pro-Michigan flub follows Vance’s long-winded rant against help for working Ohioans who are struggling to pay for child care, unable to understand why they too can’t turn to their billionaire Big Tech donors, as he always has. Calling universal day care ‘class war against normal people,’ Vance continues to show just how out of touch he really is with the needs of working Ohioans.

“So far, J.D. Vance is marketing himself as the Pro-Michigan, Big Tech and Anti-Child Care candidate. It may be a good strategy among Peter Theil and Big Tech billionaires, but it’s not a good way to win votes in Ohio,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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