Which super PACs did J Joe Ricketts fund in 2020?

Citizens for Free Enterprise ($7.8M), Congressional Leadership Fund ($100K), Republican National Committee ($36K).

Which candidates did J Joe Ricketts's money end up backing or attacking in 2020?

against TJ Cox (California 21st District, about $1.4M, won); against Abigail A. Spanberger (Virginia 7th District, about $1.3M, lost); against Xochitl Torres Small (New Mexico 2nd District, about $1.3M, won). Amounts are the donor's share of each group's spending.

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Donor

J Joe Ricketts

Individual

Businessman & Philanthropist, Self-Employed · Wyoming

8 reported gifts; 3 recipient groups listed, as reported to the FEC by the groups that received them.

Backed winners

J Joe Ricketts gave $8.0M to super PACs and other outside groups in the 2020 federal elections, and 100% of it helped Republicans (FEC filings with varying coverage dates; the most common larger-campaign cutoff is Dec 31, 2020). Among dollars with a matched election-stage result, 74% were on the winning side ($4.3M won, $1.5M lost). $7K had no matched result and is excluded.

Gave to outside spenders

$8.0M

100% of it helped Republicans

Winning share of scored dollars

74%

$5.9M scored (73% of gifts)

Spent on the losing side

$1.5M

Not allocated or result unknown

$2.1M

$2.1M not allocated to tracked outside spending; $7K has no matched result. Neither is cash on hand.

Where the checks went

A person writing checks from their own fortune. Each gift is split the way the group that received it split its spending between winners and losers, so a $10M check to a group that spent 80% on losers counts as $8M on the losing side.

✓ Backed the winner or attacked the loser ✗ Backed the loser or attacked the winner Result not matched

Group	Gave	Won / lost
Citizens for Free Enterprise $2.1M not allocated to tracked outside spending	$7.8M	$4.2M / $1.5M
Congressional Leadership Fund $14K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$100K	$67K / $12K
Republican National Committee $35K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$36K	$0 / $277

The trail

What the money bought

The candidates J Joe Ricketts's money was spent for or against, pro-rated by J Joe Ricketts's share of each group's funding.

Candidate	Race	Spending	Their share	Paid off?
TJ Cox	California 21st District	Attacking	$1.4M	✓ Yes
Abigail A. Spanberger	Virginia 7th District	Attacking	$1.3M	✗ No
Xochitl Torres Small	New Mexico 2nd District	Attacking	$1.3M	✓ Yes
Kendra S. Horn	Oklahoma 5th District	Attacking	$546K	✓ Yes
Joe Cunningham	South Carolina 1st District	Attacking	$430K	✓ Yes
Stephanie Bice	Oklahoma 5th District	Supporting	$354K	✓ Yes
Nick J. Freitas	Virginia 7th District	Supporting	$212K	✗ No
Yvette Herrell	New Mexico 2nd District	Supporting	$185K	✓ Yes
Nancy Mace	South Carolina 1st District	Supporting	$86K	✓ Yes
Donald Trump	President	Supporting	$23K	✗ No
Nick J. Freitas	Virginia 7th District	Attacking	$15K	✓ Yes
David G. Valadao	California 21st District	Supporting	$9K	✓ Yes

Individual as classified from the FEC entity type and public reporting.

Questions people ask

How much did J Joe Ricketts spend on the 2020 elections, and did it win?: J Joe Ricketts gave $8.0M to super PACs and other outside groups in the 2020 federal elections, and 100% of it helped Republicans (FEC filings with varying coverage dates; the most common larger-campaign cutoff is Dec 31, 2020). Among dollars with a matched election-stage result, 74% were on the winning side ($4.3M won, $1.5M lost). $7K had no matched result and is excluded.
Which super PACs did J Joe Ricketts fund in 2020?: Citizens for Free Enterprise ($7.8M), Congressional Leadership Fund ($100K), Republican National Committee ($36K).
Which candidates did J Joe Ricketts's money end up backing or attacking in 2020?: against TJ Cox (California 21st District, about $1.4M, won); against Abigail A. Spanberger (Virginia 7th District, about $1.3M, lost); against Xochitl Torres Small (New Mexico 2nd District, about $1.3M, won). Amounts are the donor's share of each group's spending.