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January 15, 2025

VP JD Vance co-founded the Rockbridge Network, a $75M secret donor club that steers eight political groups and placed members throughout Trump's cabinet

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Dark money captures state legislatures to control Congress

JD Vance and Chris BuskirkChris Buskirk co-founded the Rockbridge Network in 2019, naming it after Rockbridge, Ohio

Rockbridge had a $75 million budget for the 2024 election cycle and has channeled over $100 million total since 2019

The network steers eight organizations: four dark-money 501(c)(4) nonprofits, two super PACs, a 501(c)(3) donor-advised fund, and the umbrella LLC

Membership costs $100,000 (limited partner) to $1 million (principal partner) per year, with 150-200 members as of 2024

Chris BuskirkChris Buskirk's super PAC, Turnout for America, raised over $25 million in 2024 and deployed roughly 5,000 field workers across seven swing states

Faithful in Action, a Rockbridge affiliate incorporated in 2023 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, recruits churchgoers into political activism and claims over 160,000 members

Rockbridge registered 125,000 new voters in 2023 and aimed to double that number in 2024

The network held its 2024 retreat at the Palm Beach Four Seasons, with roughly 250 attendees and a Trump call-in from his hush money trial in New York

Rockbridge is expanding internationally with chapters launching in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan in 2025

Republican donors have given more than $100 million to Rockbridge-affiliated projects since 2019

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What you can do

1

Search OpenSecrets.org and FEC filings for Turnout for America super PAC donations -- super PACs must disclose donors, unlike 501(c)(4) groups, so you can see who gave to that arm of Rockbridge

2

Track Rockbridge-affiliated 501(c)(4) groups -- Better Tomorrow, Over the Horizon, Faithful in Action, Firebrand Action -- through IRS Form 990 filings at ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer to see their spending patterns

3

Support the DISCLOSE Act (S.443), which would require 501(c)(4) organizations to reveal donors who give $10,000 or more for election-related spending

4

Monitor state-level dark money disclosure laws -- New York and Connecticut already require 501(c)(4) donor disclosure for political spending, and similar bills are pending in 12+ states