Billionaire Lauder gives $1 million to GOP group supporting candidates who questioned 2020 results

Billionaire Ronald Lauder has donated $1 cardinal to the Republican State Leadership Committee, an enactment moving to elite astatine slightest 2 state-level candidates who are disputing the results of the 2020 statesmanlike election.

Lauder's $1 cardinal donation, made connected Sept. 12, is listed connected the group's third-quarter study precocious filed to the IRS. He provided a chunk of the $17 cardinal the radical raised from July done September.

Lauder is the heir to the Estee Lauder luck and has a nett worthy of $4.5 billion, according to Forbes.

A spokesperson for Lauder declined to comment. A typical for the Republican State Leadership Committee did not instrumentality a petition for comment.

Lauder is the latest of implicit 2 twelve affluent concern leaders and companies themselves that person contributed to candidates who person formed doubts connected the results of the 2020 predetermination — oregon extracurricular organizations boosting them. Lauder's donation to the Republican State Leadership Committee, which has gone unreported, is 1 of the apical idiosyncratic contributions to the radical during the 3rd quarter, according to the filing.

An adjacent larger donation came from the Concord Fund, a radical antecedently known arsenic the Judicial Crisis Network that has ties to erstwhile President Donald Trump's erstwhile judicial advisor Leonard Leo. The Concord Fund, which antecedently spent millions of dollars connected ads backing Trump's judicial nominees, gave $1.5 cardinal to the Republican State Leadership Committee successful September.

The Republican State Leadership Committee is considered a taxation exempt politically progressive radical nether conception 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. These organizations tin rise and walk an unlimited magnitude of money, but they indispensable disclose their finances to the IRS.

State-level midterm elections crossed the state are projected to rise implicit $7 cardinal arsenic the parties jockey for power of legislatures, governor's offices and caput of authorities posts, according to OpenSecrets. The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, a 527 radical backing Democrats moving for caput of state, saw a $500,000 publication earlier this twelvemonth from a ace PAC financed mostly by billionaire George Soros.

The Republican State Leadership Committee is supporting dozens of candidates moving to go secretaries of state, lieutenant governors, authorities legislators and judges connected authorities courts. Multiple Republican candidates moving for caput of authorities and lieutenant politician successful the wide predetermination person echoed Trump successful claiming that the 2020 predetermination was stolen oregon rigged.

If those caput of authorities candidates win, they would person a captious relation successful some administering the predetermination and counting ballots successful 2024 — erstwhile Trump could again pb the GOP statesmanlike ticket.

The Republican State Leadership Committee has ties to authorities legislative leaders who either questioned the predetermination results, backed efforts to halt the counting of Electoral College votes oregon downplayed the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the U.S. capitol.

In this year's authorities legislative races, the Republican State Leadership Committee has bolstered immoderate candidates who raised doubts astir the 2020 predetermination results.

The Republican State Leadership Committee has supported Wisconsin authorities Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu done integer ads starting successful August, according to its Facebook advertisement archive. LeMahieu, who fended disconnected a superior situation and is connected the ballot successful November, has pushed predetermination conspiracies connected the run trail.

"We whitethorn ne'er cognize the afloat interaction of the unlawful usage of unmanned ballot driblet boxes, nursing location abuses, oregon 'Zuckerbucks' had connected the 2020 election, but we tin guarantee those violations ne'er hap again successful Wisconsin," helium told a local Wisconsin quality outlet.

LeMahieu was 1 of 3 authorities Senate Republican leaders who past twelvemonth authorized the Senate Elections Committee to reappraisal a GOP predetermination audit that they said "paint[s] a grim picture of the Wisconsin Election Commission and their careless medication of predetermination instrumentality successful Wisconsin."

Biden won Wisconsin by less than a percent constituent successful 2020.

Earlier this year, LeMahieu said, "By a earthy ballot count, yes, Biden did get much votes successful the authorities of Wisconsin but we don't cognize — determination was evidently a batch of concerns with however those votes were cast."

The Republican State Leadership Committee besides started moving a integer advertisement successful October successful enactment of Pennsylvania authorities Rep. Lori Mizgorski, who is running to go a authorities senator, the group's Facebook advertisement archive shows. Mizgorski was 1 of the authorities GOP officials who called for an predetermination audit successful the Keystone State aft President Joe Biden defeated Trump determination successful the 2020 predetermination by a borderline ample capable to debar an automatic recount.

Republican authorities lawmakers allied with Trump launched an audit past year. While the GOP-led effort is not a recount and cannot alteration results, it aims to analyse the state's voting procedures, and could successful the process formed doubts connected whether the 2020 predetermination was fair.

"This is not astir who won oregon mislaid but astir restoring religion successful the instauration of our government. We each privation to cognize our votes were reasonably counted successful this predetermination and we privation to guarantee they volition beryllium reasonably counted successful each aboriginal elections," Mizgorski said successful a connection when she sided with authorities enactment leaders successful backing an predetermination audit.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania earlier this twelvemonth blocked a third-party institution from inspecting voting machines supplied by Dominion Voting Systems — a communal people for conspiracy theories astir the predetermination — arsenic portion of the audit.

Trump, who could tally for president successful 2024, inactive claims that the predetermination was rigged against him adjacent though officials from some sides of the aisle person said determination was nary wide elector fraud. Republicans moving for authorities and national bureau person echoed galore of his mendacious claims.

Though she supported an audit, Mizgorski has not explicitly denied the predetermination results. Lawsuits from the Trump campaign, and state-mandated audits from each Pennsylvania county, did not uncover grounds of problems that would person swayed the predetermination result.

In addition, the Republican State Leadership Committee's ain members person backed mendacious claims astir the 2020 predetermination and the Jan. 6 onslaught connected Capitol Hill.

Karen Fann, the Arizona Senate president, listed connected Republican State Leadership Committeee's website arsenic a legislative run committee member, called for an audit of Dominion Voting Systems pursuing the election. Fann is not seeking reelection.

Mike Shirkey, the Michigan authorities Senate bulk leader, is besides listed arsenic a subordinate of the group's legislative run committee. He called the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol a "hoax" and "prearranged," according to a recording obtained by the Detroit News. The House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 onslaught besides subpoenaed Shirkey.

He is not up for reelection this twelvemonth owed to word limits.

Bryan Cutler, the Pennsylvania authorities House speaker, is connected the group's authorities legislative committee. He was among a radical of authorities lawmakers that co-signed a letter to Pennsylvania's legislature delegation, urging them "to object, and ballot to prolong specified objection, to the Electoral College votes received from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the Joint Session of Congress connected January 6, 2021."