Libertarian Candidate Gets PAC Boost Amid Campaign Financing Claims
Investigation reveals links between El-Sayed’s treasurer and PAC funding for Libertarian candidate in Michigan Senate race.
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Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign treasurer, Howie Stanger, is also treasurer of a super PAC called Building America, which is funding a Libertarian candidate in Michigan’s Senate race, according to an investigation. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Stanger handles compliance work for El-Sayed’s campaign and is also associated with Building America, which is the sole funder of Principled Patriots PAC. This PAC is promoting Libertarian Lydia Christensen as the true “conservative” alternative to Republican Mike Rogers.
PAC Tactics and Funding Flows
Principled Patriots has sent text messages promoting Christensen while attacking Rogers as part of “the swamp,” the Free Beacon reported. One message read, “[Christensen] answers to you, not defense contractors.” On August 27, Rapid Resist Action, a left-wing group tied to former Obama official Yoni Landau, put $1.6 million into Building America, filings show. Building America then routed $250,000 to Principled Patriots on September 23.
El-Sayed Campaign and Financial Disclosures
Federal disclosures show El-Sayed’s campaign routed $141,837 to Pocketbook Strategies, Stanger’s firm, for “compliance services,” more than any campaign has sent the firm this cycle. A spokesman for Principled Patriots disputed any coordination, stating that Building America is not involved in any of Principled Patriots’ decision-making and that Stanger is not affiliated with the group.
Christensen’s Response and Campaign Context
Christensen, when told of the texts by the Free Beacon, said she had not heard of the PAC until a supporter flagged it. The Libertarian said she was “disgusted beyond measure” at what she called a “shadowy money-in-politics machination” meant to deceive voters. El-Sayed has built his campaign on a pledge to refuse outside money and has decried dark-money spending on Rogers’s behalf as corporate collusion.
Historical Context and Previous Involvement
Rogers lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate race to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D.) by 19,006 votes, about one-third of a point. The Libertarian in that race drew 56,697. The former congressman has since picked up the Detroit News endorsement, which faulted El-Sayed’s ties to the party’s far-left wing. In 2024, Stanger was treasurer of a network seeded by a super PAC connected to Democrat attorney Marc Elias’s law firm, which spent $1.4 million boosting Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver to pull conservative votes from Donald Trump.
Source: Breitbart
