Politics
Philadelphia D.A. takes action on election ‘lottery’ from Elon Musk’s super PAC
There was a point in the not-too-distant past in which Elon Musk said he intended to keep his wallet closed in the 2024 election cycle. The conspiratorial billionaire ultimately changed his mind and began investing heavily in support of Republican candidates up and down the ballot.
In fact, the world’s wealthiest man even helped create a super PAC that, among other things, created a $1 million “lottery” of sorts: If you registered to vote in a battleground state, and you’re willing to sign an America PAC petition, you too might pick up a seven-figure check.
If that doesn’t sound altogether legal to you, you’re not alone. As my BLN colleague Lisa Rubin explained, because federal law already prohibits paying any person for their vote or even to register to vote, “a group of former GOP Justice Department officials even asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation.”
We don’t know for sure whether or not that has happened, or will ever happen, though the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section reportedly contacted America PAC, warning that these giveaways might be in conflict with federal election law.
The district attorney’s office in Philadelphia has apparently gone one step further. NBC News reported:
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is suing Elon Musk and his super PAC to block their million-dollar giveaway to registered voters, seeking to halt the lottery-style stunt that election experts, and the Department of Justice, have warned might violate federal law. Krasner is seeking an injunction: he argued in a filing that the effort is an illegal, unregulated lottery, sidestepping the question of whether it violates vote-buying laws.
“America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens — and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) — to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million. That is a lottery,” the suit alleges. “And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery. Under unambiguous Pennsylvania law, all lotteries in Pennsylvania must be regulated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
An attorney representing America PAC did not respond immediately to NBC News’ request for comment on the suit.
Time will tell when and/or whether a judge will set a hearing in this matter, though the local prosecutor is clearly counting on swift action. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an BLN political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
The meeting came ahead of a markup planned for next week on AI policy and kids online safety measures…
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Former Rep. Trey Gowdy insists he’s not interested in running in the South Carolina special election. But a new poll suggests Gowdy would be formidable if he changed his mind.
Gowdy holds a massive lead over seven other potential and declared GOP candidates for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat, according to a poll from Republican-aligned firm Peak Insights that was obtained by POLITICO.
Gowdy draws 38 percent of the vote. The actual candidates in the race are bunched closely, with no clear frontrunner: Rep. Ralph Norman trails at 13 percent support, followed closely by both Rep. Russell Fry and Sen. Darline Graham, Lindsey’s sister who is running for a full term after being appointed, who both sit at 9 percent. Businessman Mark Lynch, a self-funder who lost a Senate primary to Graham last summer, pulls 7 percent support. The survey of 900 likely GOP primary voters for South Carolina’s special election was conducted before anyone formally entered the contest.
The election will be a test of Trump’s power. He endorsed Darline Graham last week, but that hasn’t stopped other prominent South Carolina Republicans from jumping in the race, all of them touting their loyalty to the president — despite not having his formal support.
And at least according to the poll, his endorsement doesn’t shift things much. When respondents are informed that Trump “asked Darline Graham Nordone to run in the special election for U.S. Senate, saying if she runs, she has his complete and total endorsement,” Graham’s support improves from 9 percent to 16 percent, and Gowdy falls from 38 percent to 35 percent.
The poll is a sign of why some prominent Republicans — like his longtime friend, Sen. Tim Scott — may want Gowdy in the race. Peak Insights has polled for Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as the NRSC and the Republican National Committee among many others.
Gowdy left the U.S. House in 2019 and now hosts a show on Fox News. Through a spokesperson, he said he “has not had any conversations about the open senate seat and does not have any interest in it.”
That hasn’t stopped Scott from pushing his longtime buddy to run. Scott advocated for Gowdy to be appointed to the vacant Senate seat after Lindsey Graham’s death, before South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to the seat. Scott announced last week he was recruiting Gowdy to run in the special election, before Graham announced she would run.
“I can’t think of a better person that I think best represents the heart of South Carolina than Trey Gowdy,” said Scott during a press conference Wednesday. “I’m trying to get him interested in it, but we’ll see if that works out at all.”
Scott and the NRSC have not yet issued an endorsement in the special election. Scott praised Graham during a Fox News interview Monday, saying she is “strong so far, calm under pressure, and really poised.”
The meeting came ahead of a markup planned for next week on AI policy and kids online safety measures…
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