NEW: GOP Dark Money Group Jumps into the Intraparty War Against Loeffler

Following Collins’ endorsements from Congressman Drew Ferguson and pro-Trump super PAC, newly revealed dark money group lets donors “anonymously” attack Loeffler

ATLANTA — A breaking new report from the Daily Beast revealed that a new GOP dark money group called “Georgia Is Not for Sale” has sprung up to “anonymously bring down Kelly Loeffler.” This latest endorsement against unelected “political mega-donor” Senator Kelly Loeffler follows Congressman Drew Ferguson and a top pro-Trump super PAC “breaking ranks” earlier this week to support her rival, top Trump ally Congressman Doug Collins.

The new dark money group “has plans for a larger and more aggressive media operation” funded anonymously by donors. And the group’s investment comes after outside conservative groups backing Loeffler have gone off the air in Georgia, forcing her to rely even more on her own $20 million pledge she used to buy her Senate appointment.

Loeffler has previously come under fire from members of her own party who warned about “down-ticket damage” as a result of her stock trading scandal while she has refused to clearly answer questions or follow Senator Richard Burr’s example and call for a Senate Ethics investigation.

“A dark money group targeting Senator Kelly Loeffler and further inflaming her intraparty brawl against Congressman Doug Collins is just the latest disaster for Georgia Republicans and another example of how toxic the senator has become,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “This group joins a growing list of outside conservative organizations taking sides in this multimillion dollar Republican slugfest, leaving Georgia Democrats as the only winner in this fight.”

Read more about the latest dark money group joining the GOP’s intraparty brawl:

The Daily Beast: GOP Group Tells Donors They Can Help Anonymously Bring Down Kelly Loeffler

• Donors have a way to go after the senator who finds herself at the heart of an insider-trading scandal without drawing the ire of party leaders: They can do it anonymously.

• Loeffler is the party establishment’s pick to stay in the Senate seat in 2020, even as she faces a primary challenge from Rep. Doug Collins, a Trump loyalist with significant grassroots appeal.

• A new group has now entered the fray, and it’s trying to even the odds in a way that allows its financial backers to avoid the ire of McConnell, Kemp, and their formidable allies.

• [The group] has plans for a larger and more aggressive media operation, including more “widespread digital advertising investments” and “television and other mass media advertisements.”

• It’s offering donors “investment opportunities to sponsor” those ad campaigns. And one of its selling points is that those donors can make those “investment opportunities” without having to reveal their names.

• That lack of disclosure is key to Georgia Is Not for Sale’s appeal for potential donors, a source with close ties to the group told PAY DIRT. The goal is to give deep-pocketed Collins supporters the opportunity to boost his primary prospects without opening themselves up to reciminiations from Kemp in particular.

• A deeper look at those numbers show Loeffler’s stock trade controversy may be shifting donor attitudes. In the 11 days after that story broke, Loeffler’s campaign raised about $151,000, FEC records show. The Collins campaign nearly matched that total during the same period, bringing in about $146,000.

• The controversy is also drawing more deep pockets into the race on Collins’ behalf. On Wednedsay, Great America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC, endorsed Collins and signaled that it will devote some of its considerable financial resources to attacking Loeffler over her stock trades.

###