[link removed] [[link removed]] MARCH 27, 2025
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It's Opening Day, so let's open the books on baseball owners' political activity
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With the baseball season kicking off today, OpenSecrets took a deep dive into the history of political giving by some of Major League Baseball's most prominent owners [[link removed]] .
Among our findings:
* From 2004 to 2024, Mets owner Steve Cohen and his wife donated more than $10.5 million to Republicans and $414,000 going to Democrats. But since the start of 2023, they have contributed $190,800 with the largest contribution going to the Victory Fund PAC ($150,000), which is affiliated with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
* A's owner John Fisher has a long history of funneling money into California politics, including $1.2 million opposing a proposed tax [[link removed]] on wealthy Californians to subsidize electric vehicle usage. From 2010 to 2012, he shelled out $5 million [[link removed]] to a dark money group opposed to President Barack Obama. In 2023, Fisher and his brothers William and Robert together donated over $75,000 [[link removed]] to a PAC supporting Gavin Newsom for governor.
* Rangers owner Ray Davis [[link removed]] contributed $407,000 to a joint fundraising committee supporting Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024. In 2015, he supported Jeb Bush’s run for the Republican presidential nomination with a $100,000 donation to his Right to Rise super PAC. He has donated more than a half a million dollars to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaigns over the years.
* San Francisco Giants owner Charles Johnson and his wife, Ann, contributed $24 million to political parties and PACs over the past two decades — with nearly all of it going to the Republican Party and GOP candidates. The Johnsons contributed $10,500 to one Democratic candidate: Rep. Jackie Speier (Calif.). They were the biggest donors among all current owners.
* Dodgers owner Mark Walter solely contributes to the Democratic Party and the Major League Baseball Commissioner’s Office PAC. In 2011, Walter donated $30,800 [[link removed]] to the Democratic National Committee Services Corporation and $5,000 [[link removed]] to Obama For America PAC. He contributed $7,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $7,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2013.
* Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner contributed $14,900 to McCain-aligned PACs in 2008, and $4,800 to the Friends of Schumer PAC in 2009. The rest of his contributions have solely gone to the Major League Baseball PAC, which contributed $246,000 [[link removed]] to federal candidates during the cycle (essentially split evenly between the parties).
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Wisconsin Supreme Court race breaks records and draws controversy as billionaires weigh in
Women protesting Elon Musk [[link removed]]
As Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election approaches on April 1, record-breaking spending has drawn the public's attention. The surge in election spending, driven in part by billionaires on both sides of the political spectrum from within and outside the state, is raising concerns about the influence of money on what is supposed to be a nonpartisan judicial race.
Left-leaning candidate Susan Crawford has raised more than $24 million [[link removed]] . Philanthropist George Soros, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman have made major donations to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which then transferred funds [[link removed]] to her campaign. She faces Brad Schimel, a conservative judge who was endorsed by President Trump [[link removed]] last week. Schimel has raised [[link removed]] more than $12 million. He has the financial backing of billionaire Elon Musk, who has spent millions supporting Schimel through his America PAC. Also, the dark money group Building America's Future [[link removed]] , whose funding has been linked to Musk in the past, has been spending heavily on this race.
Musk, the biggest donor during the 2024 election cycle [[link removed]] and now a top White House advisor, is repeating his playbook [[link removed]] from the presidential election: He is offering $100 to Wisconsin voters who sign a petition “in opposition to activist judges,” or refer others to sign it. The petition reads: “Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, I’m rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role — interpreting, not legislating.”
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Trump administration profile: Mike Waltz
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National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has been at the center of a firestorm this week after he added a journalist to a Signal chat with other senior officials discussing plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Who is he?
Waltz, 51, was elected in 2018 to represent Florida in the House and served until Jan. 20, 2025, resigning in the early days of his fourth term to join the Trump administration. He served on the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees during his six years on Capitol Hill.
Waltz served in the U.S. Army in the late 1990s and then in the Army National Guard until becoming national security advisor. He was the first Green Beret to serve in Congress [[link removed]] and went on multiple combat tours to Afghanistan, for which he received four Bronze Stars.
Prior to his election, Waltz was director for Afghanistan policy in the office of the secretary of defense in the George W. Bush administration and advised Vice President Dick Cheney on counterterrorism and South Asia. In 2010, he founded the defense and intelligence advising firm Metis Solutions and has made frequent appearances on Fox News.
His wife, Julia Nesheiwat, was homeland security adviser in the first Trump administration. Trump nominated her sister, Janette Nesheiwat, to be surgeon general [[link removed]] .
Follow the Money [[link removed]]
Additional profiles
* Marco Rubio [[link removed]] , secretary of state
* Sean Duffy [[link removed]] , secretary of transportation
* Susie Wiles [[link removed]] , director national intelligence
* Tulsi Gabbard [[link removed]] , director national intelligence
* Kash Patel [[link removed]] , director of the FBI
* Kristi Noem [[link removed]] , secretary of homeland security
* Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [[link removed]] , secretary of health and human services
* Linda McMahon [[link removed]] , secretary of education
* Elise Stefanik [[link removed]] , ambassador to the United Nations
* Doug Burgum [[link removed]] , secretary of the interior
* Pete Hegseth [[link removed]] , secretary of defense
Chart of the week
Elon Musk and five others topped $100 million in political donations in 2024
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Tech mogul and top White House advisor Elon Musk donated more than $291 million to Republican candidates, political action committees and other outside spending organizations in the 2024 election cycle. While he was, by far, the biggest political donor, he was not the only person to contribute more than $100 million.
The top six political donors — Musk, banking scion Timothy Mellon, casino owner Miriam Adelson, shipping supplies magnates Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, hedge fund CEO Kenneth Griffin, and trading firm co-founder Jeffrey Yass and his wife Janine — all gave $100 million or more, and all supported Republican candidates and causes.
The seventh biggest donor was hedge fund CEO Paul Singer ($66.8 million), another Republican supporter. He was followed by the top donors to Democrats: politician and businessman Michael Bloomberg ($64 million) and entrepreneur Dustin Moskovitz ($51 million).
While most of the top donors showed clear preferences for either Democrats or Republicans, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz (co-founders of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz) focused their giving on a pro-crypto group that supported and opposed candidates from both parties.
See the Top 100 [[link removed]]
What else we're reading
K Street crashes into ‘nearly un-lobbyable’ Elon Musk [[link removed]] (Politico)
With Orders, Investigations and Innuendo, Trump and G.O.P. Aim to Cripple the Left [[link removed]] (The New York Times)
‘Blatantly Pro-Corruption’: Trump Guts Anti-Money Laundering Rule [[link removed]] (Sludge)
Pay-to-play boom [[link removed]] (Politico)
OpenSecrets in the news
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
Has Elon Musk’s PAC in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race set the record for outside spending on state court elections? [[link removed]] (Wisconsin Watch)
The nonprofit campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets tracks cumulative independent group spending in state supreme court and appellate court races through 2024. Its figures indicate the biggest spender nationally is the Citizens for Judicial Fairness, which spent a total of $11.4 million in the 2020 and 2022 Illinois court races.
There’s no mystery about why Trump is axing federal employees. They don’t support him [[link removed]] (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Take the Internal Revenue Service, where I looked at the first 500 political donations that came up from OpenSecrets.org’s database for the 2024 election cycle. Wouldn’t you know it, more than 90% of them went to Democrats and their union allies. Among those 500 donations were seven to Trump compared to dozens for Kamala Harris.
How influencers and politicians built an unregulated supplement empire [[link removed]] (Mashable)
This regulatory gap has allowed supplement companies to operate with minimal red tape — and they've spent significant resources ensuring those regulations stay lax. Between 2004 and 2014, the industry primarily lobbied Republicans, but in 2016, lobbying efforts shifted toward Democrats. By 2024, however, the industry overwhelmingly favored Republicans, with $1.5 million more spent on GOP candidates than Democrats, according to Open Secrets — the widest gap to date.
Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff vows defiance to Trump ahead of 2026 election [[link removed]] (The Associated Press)
Any race in Georgia is likely to be closely contested and fantastically expensive. The twin Senate races in 2020, when Ossoff and Warnock narrowly won and flipped control of the Senate to Democrats, cost more than $900 million combined, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending. Warnock’s 2022 reelection over Republican Herschel Walker cost more than $470 million, OpenSecrets found.
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The OpenSecrets merch store is here!
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We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the OpenSecrets Merch Store [[link removed]] ! Now, you can support our mission while looking good doing it. Every purchase helps us provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens.
Our collection — initially featuring a hoodie, crewneck, t-shirt and hat — is designed to spread awareness and make a difference. Whether you're treating yourself or finding the perfect gift, every item you buy helps fuel our cause. And every item in our store was manufactured by a certified ethical and “sweat-free” company.
Join us in wearing your support — transparency has never been more comfortable!
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Join us at the American Democracy Summit
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We’re excited to announce our participation in the 2025 American Democracy Summit [[link removed]] — one of the premier gatherings of pro-democracy leaders and changemakers in the country. This year’s theme, "We The Future," is about coming together to build a stronger, more accountable government that truly represents all Americans — a theme that aligns perfectly with the OpenSecrets mission.
The American Democracy Summit will take place near Phoenix, Arizona, May 14-16, 2025.
Learn all about the summit’s innovative programming and world-class speakers here [[link removed]] . And use code OPENSECRETS to get 10% off your ticket.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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