Dem-backed shadow group allegedly recruits right-leaning spoiler candidates to ensure Democratic control of Congress

A mysterious political organization with apparent ties to Democratic donors has allegedly recruited conservative candidates in various areas across the country ostensibly in hopes of siphoning votes away from leading Republican candidates, thereby increasing the odds for Democrats in the race.

The group is called Patriots Run Project, the AP reported, and it is not a registered U.S. business or a nonprofit listed with the IRS.

'When you try and steal an election by taking advantage of guys like Joe or any Iowans in this room, I don’t care what your party, we fight back.'

According to the AP, Patriots Run Project has identified six individuals — all of whom are retired and/or disabled — to run for the U.S. House in competitive districts in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana, and Virginia.

One such candidate is Joe Wiederien, a 54-year-old stroke victim with a previous felony DUI-related conviction who was tapped to run as an independent candidate against Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa).

Nunn barely eked out a victory in 2022 by just 2,000 votes, and he is now in another tough battle to retain his seat in 2024.

Wiederien, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, told the AP he was initially excited at the opportunity to run as an "America First" candidate. Later, however, he began to have misgivings and ultimately withdrew his name from the race after he believed he had been scammed.

"At that time I was thinking, well, it would be nice to be in Congress and get to work with President Trump," Wiederien said. "It looks like it’s a dirty trick now."

Wiederien has also reportedly shared his story with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and filed a fraud complaint. Another group, Americans for Public Trust, filed a complaint about Patriots Run Project with the FCC.

Rep. Nunn supports a continued investigation into the group and its apparent attempts "to steal this election."

"When you try and steal an election by taking advantage of guys like Joe or any Iowans in this room, I don’t care what your party, we fight back," he told a crowd of supporters at a recent campaign event.

"The stakes in November could not be higher."

Evidence indicates that Patriots Run Project identified possible candidates through Facebook ads and surveys or by searching through political messages posted to the social media platform. Facebook later removed those ads because they appeared to violate the platform's terms of service.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, did not respond to the AP's request for comment.

Once individuals had been targeted, representatives from Patriots Run Project then allegedly helped get them on the ballot.

For instance, two operatives with whom Wiederien corresponded reached out to Common Sense America to help gather signatures on his behalf.

Common Sense America is an LLC headquartered in Las Vegas and created just this past February. A company disclosure filing in Colorado lists the phone number of a co-founder of Sole Strategies, a Democratic consulting firm, the AP said.

Documents further indicate that a liberal philanthropist in New York City was willing to pay Common Sense America $3,300 to gather signatures for a conservative candidate in Nebraska groomed by Patriots Run Project, the outlet continued.

Thomas Leager, who is running as an "America First" candidate for a Wisconsin U.S. Senate seat, likewise apparently received help gathering signatures from Patriots Run Project, which collected donations from a string of wealthy Democrats, including David and Liz Steinglass, who, over the years, have shelled out more than $5 million to Democrat-affiliated PACs.

In all, Patriots Run Project reportedly raised $20,000 and sent it to another Democrat-aligned firm to collect signatures for Leager, an unindicted co-conspirator in the alleged plot to kidnap Democrat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Leager ultimately gathered enough signatures to appear on the ballot this November and will run against Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Eric Hovde, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

As some outlets have noted, shady election tricks are as old as democracy itself, and whether any of these antics is illegal is unclear.

Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that while the scheme seems "shady and unethical," "it is hard to say whether any laws have been broken."

Still, if nothing else, groups like Patriots Run Project further erode public trust in the election process.

"Whether it’s congressional or presidential races, this kind of activity is a real problem and it undermines the functioning of democracy," said Ohio State University law professor Edward Foley.

The AP left messages for suspected Patriots Run Project operatives, but those messages were not returned.

Spokespersons for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC, a major Democrat PAC, denied any involvement in Patriots Run Project.

The DCNF reported that Steinglass and Leager could not be reached for comment.

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