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Koch Network Re-Evaluates Midterm Strategy

April 24, 2018 at 9:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The network of groups affiliated with billionaire conservative donors Charles and David Koch are taking a new look at which Republican candidates to support this year,” The Hill reports.

“The groups still plan to spend up to $400 million on politics and policies this election cycle, but they’re deeply frustrated by what they view as the GOP’s refusal to take up major legislation ahead of the midterm election.”

“Some of the network’s donors privately tell us that the House majority looks like a lost cause, potentially accelerating the movement of money toward protecting the Senate majority.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Win Despite Sitting Out Election

November 19, 2016 at 2:10 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “The Koch brothers’ massive network of political organizations sat out this presidential election, instead focusing on the battle for control of the Senate. But, in a twist of luck, the Kochs have ended up with two of their favorites in the Trump administration: Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo, who was nominated to be the CIA director, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Trump Transition Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Focus on Rebuilding After Trump

September 6, 2016 at 8:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Their secret weapon is the Grassroots Leadership Academy: a training program dreamed up by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the political education arm of the Koch network, and intended to groom the next generation of conservative activists to shape the future of the Republican Party.”

“Taking inspiration from icons of the left like Saul Alinsky, the Marxist-inspired Frankfurt School, and even President Obama’s Organizing for Action, the academy offers classes like ‘Messaging to the Middle’ (about reaching not just the conservative base but also persuadable voters), community organizing and how to wage a successful public protest, complete with costumes.”

“The goal is not just to equip activists to compete with the left, but also to help rebuild the conservative movement in the wake of a Trump loss — or even a Trump victory.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers


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Koch Brothers Pull Out of Ohio Senate Race

August 30, 2016 at 4:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The powerful network helmed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch is cancelling advertising in the Ohio Senate race, a sign that Republican Sen. Rob Portman is viewed as increasingly likely to win,” The Hill reports.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Reject Effort to Meet with Trump

July 29, 2016 at 6:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Top Donald Trump donors tried to set up a meeting between the GOP presidential nominee and Charles Koch in Colorado Springs on Friday, but Koch aides rejected the entreaties,” Politico reports.

“Koch and his brother David Koch, who helm an influential network of advocacy groups and major conservative donors, have been sharply critical of Trump’s rhetoric and policy stances and have indicated they do not intend to support his campaign.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Donald Trump, Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Will Skip GOP Convention

April 20, 2016 at 1:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

“The grassroots empire of billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch may be notably absent when Republicans gather to pick the party’s presidential nominee in Cleveland this summer.”

“Sources with knowledge of the plans told the Washington Examiner that the brothers have withdrawn their political network’s presence from the festivities surrounding the Republican National Convention.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Will Not Try to Stop Trump

March 3, 2016 at 10:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

The Koch brothers, the most powerful conservative mega donors in the United States, “will not use their $400 million political arsenal to try to block Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s path to the presidential nomination,” Reuters reports.

“Three sources close to the Kochs said the brothers made the decision because they were concerned that spending millions of dollars attacking Trump would be money wasted, since they had not yet seen any attack on Trump stick.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Donald Trump, Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Could Sit Out 2016 Election

February 5, 2016 at 2:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

If the 2016 presidential election is a Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton match up, the Koch brothers may not participate, Vanity Fair reports.

Said one unnamed adviser: “I could see the network not participating in the presidential election at all.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Have Already Spent $400 Million

January 31, 2016 at 8:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

“The Koch brothers’ donor network spent close to $400 million last year, and is on its way to spending an unprecedented $889 million supporting right-wing politics and causes during the 2016 cycle,” The Hill reports.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Work to Soften Image

November 4, 2015 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

“The Koch brothers are on a publicity tour to change their image,” The Hill reports.

“Long caricatured by Democrats as shadowy billionaires who buy Republican politicians so they can grow their profits and destroy the environment, Charles and David Koch did on Tuesday something they have never done before: a joint television interview.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Not Ready to Pick a Candidate

October 27, 2015 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

Wall Street Journal: “Charles Koch sounds a lot like an ordinary voter when he bemoans what he said is a lack of substance and civility in the 2016 White House race… Except, of course, Mr. Koch is no ordinary voter: The 79-year-old businessman and his brother preside over a network of conservative donors who plan to spend roughly $750 million influencing 2016 races.”

“But so far in this primary race he said he is frustrated by the dearth of discussion about other issues he cares about, from ending subsidies and tax breaks for corporations to overhauling the criminal-justice system and making it easier for low-income Americans to start businesses. He plans to wait until year-end to determine how much he will spend on 2016 elections, including the White House contest.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Charles Koch, Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Eye Marco Rubio for $1 Billion Prize

October 8, 2015 at 8:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 63 Comments

New York Daily News: “Slowly but surely, the GOP is narrowing down its list of presidential candidates. The big prize — aside from the presidency itself — is still the nearly $1 billion contribution the kingmaking Koch brothers, Charles and David, will reportedly throw behind the conservative agenda next year. According to a political insider who ran into David Koch at a recent event in Manhattan, Florida Sen. Rubio is the front-runner for dough now that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is out of the race.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers, Marco Rubio

Winning Higher Priority Than Purity for Koch Brothers

August 23, 2015 at 9:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

“The head of the Koch brothers’ flagship political organization says a Republican winning the presidency is becoming a higher priority for more of its members, suggesting a rift between pragmatists and ideologues,” the AP reports.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Walker Is Clear Favorite of Koch Donors

August 6, 2015 at 7:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker “won a surprising nod in an informal straw poll of major conservative donors gathered by the Koch brothers’ operation last weekend in Orange County, California,” Politico reports.

“In a closed-door session that included about 100 donors, Republican pollster Frank Luntz asked donors to clap to indicate their choice for the Republican Party’s nomination. While Luntz did not formally track or announce the results, sources say it was clear that Walker got the most applause, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who received roughly the same amount of applause.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers, Scott Walker

Trump Quote of the Day

August 3, 2015 at 5:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“I wish good luck to all of the Republican candidates that traveled to California to beg for money etc. from the Koch Brothers. Puppets?”

— Donald Trump, on Twitter.

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Try to Alter Image

July 31, 2015 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

New York Times: “After two elections in which Democrats and liberals sought to cast them as the secretive, benighted face of the Republican Party, the Kochs are seeking to remake public perceptions of their family, their business and their politics, unsettling a corporate culture deeply allergic to the spotlight.”

“Even as their donor network prepares to spend extravagantly to defeat Democrats during the 2016 campaign, the Kochs have made cause with prominent liberals to change federal sentencing rules, which disproportionately affect African-Americans, while a Koch-backed nonprofit, the Libre Initiative, offers driving lessons and tax preparation services to Latinos.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Work to Build ‘Permanent Ground Force’

July 29, 2015 at 5:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 48 Comments

Washington Post: “The summer canvassing is part of a mission that consumes the political network backed by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch that plans to spend $889 million in the run-up to the 2016 elections. The network’s resources are financing a host of activities… But one of the prime objectives could have a direct impact on Election Day 2016: to create a permanent ground force powered by a vast trove of data, replicating the kind of infrastructure that helped President Obama win reelection.”

“Already, roughly 1,000 full-time staffers are working for Koch network organizations such as AFP, Concerned Veterans for America and the Libre Initiative — more than double the number four years ago, according to officials.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Koch brothers

Koch Brothers Freeze Out Donald Trump

July 29, 2015 at 11:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

“The Koch brothers are freezing out Donald Trump from their influential political operation — denying him access to their state-of-the-art data and refusing to let him speak to their gatherings of grass-roots activists or major donors,” Politico reports.

“Despite a long and cordial relationship between the real estate showman and David Koch, as well as a raft of former Koch operatives who are now running Trump’s presidential campaign, the Koch political operation appears to have concluded that Trump is the wrong standard-bearer for the GOP.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Donald Trump, Koch brothers

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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