A group of Democratic strategists is launching a new super PAC geared toward supporting state parties and allied groups in addressing legal challenges surrounding the election, according to officials with the newly formed PAC.
Democracy Defenders PAC will focus on pushing back against “an unprecedented assault from Donald Trump and his allies who seek to undermine the American people’s fundamental right to vote, and confidence their vote will be fairly counted,” a PAC official said.
Former President Barack Obama campaign veteran Jim Messina will be the chair of the group, and Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, an ally of former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams and attorney who worked on the Bush v. Gore case in 2000, will serve as the chief legal adviser.
TJ Ducklo, who worked on President Joe Biden’s 2020 and 2024 bids, is departing Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to serve as the group’s chief strategist. Brookings Institute senior fellow and CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen will be an outside counsel to the group.
The group will start with $10 million to offer legal and messaging support to state parties and allied groups, as well as focus on certain battleground states and down-ballot races, officials said. They will continue to raise funds for the efforts in the coming months.
PAC officials also said they will help confront “bad actors” trying to sow doubt about election results after voting in November is complete.
“Trump and his allies are already working to undermine the fundamental right we have as Americans to vote and to have our vote counted fairly,” Messina said in a statement. “We are not messing around with this — too much is on the line and we’ve seen what Trump is capable of when he loses an election fair and square.”
