NYT report shows Democrats raised more ‘dark money’ in 2020 than GOP

A new report published on Saturday by the New York Times showed Democrat candidates and left-leaning political action committees (PACs) raised more ‘dark money’ during the 2020 election cycle than their GOP counterparts.

The analysis, which the New York Times notes is incomplete due to the hard-to-trace nature of the dark money donations, showed Democrats raised $1.5 billion in dark money across fifteen donation platforms, and Republicans raised about $9 million across fifteen right-leaning organizations.

The phrase ‘dark money’ refers to donations made to political candidates or PACs that work to get them elected by politically-inclined nonprofit organizations that are not legally required to report their political donations.

A 2020 Insider analysis reported similar findings, saying pro-Biden PACs in 2020 raised eight times more dark money than they did for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Democrats have often come out publicly against dark money donations, criticizing the lack of transparency and saying all donors, including lobbyists should be subject to full disclosure.

The US House of Representatives introduced the For the People Act in 2021 that called for all donations over $10,000 to be subject to full public disclosure.

The NYT analysis used tax filings and other data to compile its information. The report showed even pro-Biden PACs engaged in the donation and spending of dark money to defeat Donald Trump in 2020. President Biden has in the past spoken out against dark money donations.