Which super PACs did John Childs fund in 2020?

Senate Leadership Fund ($1.0M), Club for Growth Action ($950K), Better Future Mi Fund ($500K), Freedomworks for America ($325K), House Freedom Action ($300K).

Which candidates did John Childs's money end up backing or attacking in 2020?

against Gary Peters (Michigan Senate, about $408K, lost); against Joe Biden (President, about $253K, lost); against Jon Ossoff (Georgia Senate, about $180K, lost). Amounts are the donor's share of each group's spending.

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Donor

John Childs

Individual

Chairman and CEO, J.W. Childs Associates · Florida

68 reported gifts; 13 recipient groups listed, as reported to the FEC by the groups that received them.

Mixed results

John Childs gave $3.5M to super PACs and other outside groups in the 2020 federal elections, and 96% 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, 44% were on the winning side ($1.1M won, $1.4M lost). $176K had no matched result and is excluded.

Gave to outside spenders

$3.5M

96% of it helped Republicans

Winning share of scored dollars

44%

$2.5M scored (70% of gifts)

Spent on the losing side

$1.4M

Not allocated or result unknown

$1.1M

$899K not allocated to tracked outside spending; $176K 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
Senate Leadership Fund $390K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$1.0M	$341K / $268K
Club for Growth Action $99K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$950K	$370K / $377K
Better Future Mi Fund $53K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$500K	$0 / $447K
Freedomworks for America $153K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$325K	$42K / $128K
House Freedom Action $67K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$300K	$150K / $19K
America First Action $15K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$125K	$0 / $110K
Congressional Leadership Fund $14K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$100K	$67K / $12K
1820 PAC $12K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$100K	$79K / $9K
NRSC $46K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$71K	$15K / $10K
Republican National Committee $36K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$36K	$0 / $281
Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. $11K not allocated to tracked outside spending	$25K	$8K / $6K
End Citizens United $451 not allocated to tracked outside spending	$690	$63 / $177
NRCC $120 not allocated to tracked outside spending	$165	$39 / $4

The trail

What the money bought

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

Candidate	Race	Spending	Their share	Paid off?
Gary Peters	Michigan Senate	Attacking	$408K	✗ No
Joe Biden	President	Attacking	$253K	✗ No
Jon Ossoff	Georgia Senate	Attacking	$180K	✗ No
Wendy R. Davis	Texas 21st District	Attacking	$106K	✓ Yes
Cal Cunningham	North Carolina Senate	Attacking	$100K	✓ Yes
Sara I. Gideon	Maine Senate	Attacking	$90K	✓ Yes
David A. Perdue	Georgia Senate	Supporting	$79K	✗ No
Kelly Loeffler	Georgia Senate (special)	Supporting	$79K	✗ No
Steve Bullock	Montana Senate	Attacking	$71K	✓ Yes
Gary Peters	Michigan Senate (primary)	Attacking	$59K	✗ No
Kathleen Williams	Montana at-large House seat	Attacking	$50K	✓ Yes
Abigail A. Spanberger	Virginia 7th District	Attacking	$47K	✗ No

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

Questions people ask

How much did John Childs spend on the 2020 elections, and did it win?: John Childs gave $3.5M to super PACs and other outside groups in the 2020 federal elections, and 96% 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, 44% were on the winning side ($1.1M won, $1.4M lost). $176K had no matched result and is excluded.
Which super PACs did John Childs fund in 2020?: Senate Leadership Fund ($1.0M), Club for Growth Action ($950K), Better Future Mi Fund ($500K), Freedomworks for America ($325K), House Freedom Action ($300K).
Which candidates did John Childs's money end up backing or attacking in 2020?: against Gary Peters (Michigan Senate, about $408K, lost); against Joe Biden (President, about $253K, lost); against Jon Ossoff (Georgia Senate, about $180K, lost). Amounts are the donor's share of each group's spending.