During his bid to unseat Sen. Josh Hawley (R) last year, Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce made news by keeping pace financially with the incumbent. That wasn’t enough to beat him, but a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission may indicate he’ll try and use that fundraising momentum beyond his own campaign.
Kunce filed with the FEC Monday to change his campaign committee into a hybrid political action committee called “Heartland Patriots.” The distinction allows it to act like both a super PAC and a traditional political action committee. That means it can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on elections indirectly while also being able to contribute directly to political campaigns.
Kunce’s campaign actually ended the election season with debt. A post-election report, lists $220,109 in the bank, but debts of $274,775.
“After the conversion, the committee remains responsible for resolving any outstanding obligations, such as debts,” the FEC website states.
But it’s not clear from the committee’s finances why the decision was made to turn the committee into a hybrid PAC.
“There should not be any benefit to converting to a hybrid PAC in terms of the ability to pay off that debt, because even if you raise money from people that had already contributed, those contributions would be counted against the money that was already donated,” said Erin Chlopak, the Campaign Legal Center’s senior director of campaign finance.
“Using that money to pay off debts to the extent it isn't otherwise compliant with the limits that would apply under its former iteration doesn't strike me as something that would be lawful,” she added.
But the move could signal something about Kunce’s political future.
Kunce mounted a U.S. Senate campaign in both 2022 and 2024, using the same campaign committee the entire time. With that committee now amended to a hybrid PAC, it could indicate that he doesn’t plan to run for Senate again.
Hybrid PACs come as a result of Carey v. FEC, which was decided one year after Citizens United v FEC allowed for the creation of super PACs. Hybrid PACs have two separate bank accounts: one for direct, limited contributions directly to candidates, and another for indirect, unlimited outside spending that doesn’t coordinate with campaigns. They are sometimes called Carey Committees.
“All the benefits of a super PAC, being able to accept unlimited donations, including from corporations and unions, a hybrid PAC is able to take advantage of those,” Chlopak said.
OpenSecrets reports that 2024 federal elections set a record for outside spending at $4.5 billion. Carey Committees spent about $1.4 billion.
Throughout the campaign cycle, OpenSecrets reports Kunce raised more than $23 million. Hawley raised more than $27 million and beat Kunce by almost 14 points.
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