The Koch network, led by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, has added a new super PAC to its ranks, allowing it to better influence voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Americans for Prosperity Action will function as a sister organization to the Koch network’s social welfare nonprofit, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), The Washington Post reports. As a super PAC, AFP Action will not have the same barriers as the nonprofit, which cannot directly influence voters.
AFP Action will be able to raise and spend an unlimited amount of funds to tilt elections in favor of Koch network goals, as long as it doesn’t coordinate directly with political campaigns. The PAC is not explicitly party-related, but rather will promote candidates who support the Koch network’s policy goals, primarily free-market practices.
The Koch network has already committed to spending $400 million in the 2018 election cycle, Politico reports. Discussions for AFP Action, which will help facilitate this election work, began in January of this year, Bill Riggs, a spokesman for the PAC, told CNBC.
“Americans for Prosperity has been a difference-maker supporting policy champions in tight races, and AFP Action is a new tool that will allow us to expand those efforts and make an even larger impact,” said Riggs.