The mysterious super PAC supports Libertarians and undercuts the GOP in tough races

GOP activists are deeply suspicious that a mysterious new super PAC is working to sabotage Republicans in close House and Senate races by supporting Libertarian candidates.

The Save Western Culture PAC, which appears to be targeting Senate races in Maryland and Texas as well as at least a dozen equally close House races, registered with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 11.

Because of its late-stage FEC registration, no public information about its donors is available – and most likely won't be before the November 5 election, further fueling suspicion, including about whether the company may be trying to Skimming votes from GOP candidates. Details on spending are also limited.

“Every election cycle, national Democrats create dark money groups to confuse voters and support third-party candidates who have no chance of winning,” Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told The Post.

“This seems more of the same, and voters should reject this disingenuous tactic.”

The Post attempted to call Save Western Culture PAC's listed treasurer, Seth Martin, but the number in the FEC file was no longer valid. Additionally, The Post reached out to the group's email address on file with the username “Libertyordeath2024” but received no response.

FEC records show that Save Western Culture relied on Apex Growth Strategies, Zenith Strategy and Precision Ads 360 for its various advertising and flyer campaigns. Numerous attempts by the Post to recruit representatives from each of these companies were unsuccessful.

Based on the limited data available, the emerging super PAC appears to have spent about $1 million so far.

Targeted domestic breeds include Arizona District 6, Colorado District 8, Iowa Districts 1 and 3, Michigan District 7, Montana District 1, North Carolina District 1, New York District 17 and 19, Oregon District 5, Pennsylvania District 8 and Virginia District 2.

Almost all of them are rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report's election handicapper.

Given that control of the House of Representatives is widely viewed as anyone's game, the move by the supposedly shady super PAC could very well tip the balance in the balance of power in the House.

Limited FEC disclosures show the amount the PAC spent on candidates it “supported or opposed,” without specifying whether the spending was intended to help or hurt the candidate.

In some cases the PAC lists Republican candidates, while in other cases it lists Libertarian candidates.

However, so far there is no evidence that the PAC is spending money to help Republican candidates in any way.

In Maryland, where former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) faces an uphill battle to vacate the open Senate seat there, Save Western Culture PAC has distributed leaflets promoting his libertarian foe Mike Scott, who frequently weighs in on both parties.

Some of the mailers have touted Scott's conservative stance and claimed he would support pardoning former President Donald Trump, although it is not entirely clear that he would do so.

“We need a senator who will uphold our conservative values,” says a mailer from Save Western Culture, which supports Scott.

Scott told The Post that he “knows nothing about” the Save Western Culture PAC.

“It could be friends who want me to thrive and take Mr. Hogan’s votes. They could associate me with Mr. Trump to deter Democrats who want an alternative to Ms. Alsobrooks,” he said.

“I’m the moderate in this race.”

While Scott took some conservative positions, he was also heavily critical of Trump, calling him an “authoritarian statist.” Scott has also repeatedly called the Israel-Hamas war a “genocide.”

Hogan is perhaps Trump's most prominent Republican critic this cycle. He was also the Republicans' best chance in decades to win a Maryland Senate seat.

“Lying to voters while asking for their trust is a slap in the face to our most sacred democratic processes,” Hogan campaign spokesman Blake Kernen said of the Save Western Culture PAC.

“We hope this close election will be decided by the issues that matter most to Marylanders – and not by a smear campaign based on lies and resorting to tacky political gamesmanship that everyone hates.”

Some campaigns have not yet seen much of an impact from the Save Western Culture PAC's efforts, but there are growing concerns.

In Michigan's District 7, where the PAC appears to have targeted Republican Tom Barrett, the former senator's allies say they are keeping an eye on it.

“We are very worried. “They started spending last week and are obviously trying to help the Libertarian candidate take vote share from Tom Barrett,” a Barrett allied strategist told The Post.

In North Carolina's 1st District, PAC-funded flyers praised Libertarian hopeful Tom Bailey and labeled Republican Laurie Buckhout a “RINO” – or “Republican in Name Only.”

“Vote for Tom Bailey this November because RINO Laurie Buckhout is not one of us,” one flyer said.

She is in a tough election campaign against incumbent Rep. Don Davis (D-NC).

The history of the Democrats with the spoiler strategy

There is a fairly long history of left-leaning groups launching subversion campaigns aimed at promoting third-party candidates to steal votes from Republicans. At times, left-leaning groups have interfered in primaries and tried to highlight more extreme candidates to weaken the GOP in general elections.

In 2020, for example, Republicans were wrong when the Really American PAC began spending money on billboards attacking Republican Senate candidates from the right.

It was clear at the time that the funding came from liberal sources such as the Democrats' fundraising platform ActBlue.

“Perdue/Loeffler didn’t deliver for Trump, not for them,” one billboard read, referring to Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in Georgia this year.

After the pair's subsequent defeats and Democrats' takeover of the Senate, some GOP activists attributed the losses in part to these kinds of antics.

There have also been concerns this election cycle that donor David Steinglass, a longtime Democratic and transgender rights supporter, is opening his coffers to very conservative independent candidates in key elections.