Lincoln Project admits orchestrating racist campaign stunt
Panel weighs in on Virginia governor race ahead of Tuesday's election on 'The Big Saturday Show'
The Lincoln Project's last foray into a closely watched statewide election was a debacle. So Ohio's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate appears to want nothing to do with the disgraced organization.
Responding to news that the Lincoln Project has marked this year's Senate race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican J.D. Vance as one of the "top races critical to American democracy's survival," Ryan's communications director simply tweeted, "Pls no."
Twitter users seemed amused that the communications director for a prominent Democrat had attempted to maintain the distance between her candidate’s campaign and the disgraced PAC.
The Lincoln Project dispatched five tiki-torch wielding people to stand in front of Republican Glenn Youngkin’s campaign bus in Charlottesville just days before Election Day, in an effort to conjure up imagery of the infamous White nationalist rally there in 2017. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
"They're your problem now. Enjoy it!," The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller reacted.
"HELP IS ON THE WAY, @TimRyan," added Twitchy editor Greg Pollowitz.
Ryan's campaign didn't respond to a request for comment.
Founded by disgruntled former and anti-Trump Republicans, the left-wing political action committee has been rocked by scandals and embarrassment for the past year, as well as support for failed Democratic candidates.
In 2020, the group spent six figures on 10 Senate races. In races where the most money was spent, the PAC’s favored candidates lost by significant margins, according to the Federal Election Commission.
THE LINCOLN PROJECT ROASTED AS ‘DERANGED HACKS’ FOR ORCHESTRATING VIRAL HOAX TO SMEAR YOUNGKIN
In its largest contribution, The Lincoln Project spent nearly $4.3 million in an attempt to unseat Republican Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan. He won the race by more than 12 points.
In one of its more recent forays into political campaigns, the group admitted it was behind a stunt that attempted to link Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin to Tiki-torch carrying racists. It was quickly discovered that these were not White supremacists at all, but rather people hired by The Lincoln Project to stand outside of one of Youngkin’s campaign stops and smear his supporters.
The race hoax was widely panned on both sides of the political aisle, including the campaign of Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. The next week, Youngkin won the hotly contested race.
DISGRACED LINCOLN PROJECT MEMBERS REEMERGE AS LIBERAL MEDIA FORGETS GROUP'S SCANDALS
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin works in the old Governor's office at the Capitol Wednesday March 2, 2022, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) ( (AP Photo/Steve Helber))
Last year, it was revealed another co-founder John Weaver, had harassed dozens of men online, dangling employment opportunities and social media clout in exchange for suggested sexual favors.
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The 19th reported several of the group's higher-ups knew of the allegations as early as March 2020, and still wanted to partner with Weaver on a joint media venture afterwards. The group was also panned for publishing the private messages of co-founder Jennifer Horn and a reporter investigating the group, and it has also faced reports of self-dealing and a toxic work environment.
Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report.