• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Leadership

Koch Brothers’ Network Focusing on GOP Senate, not Trump

By
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 16, 2016, 9:45 AM ET
Koch-Backed Americans For Prosperity Group Uses State-Of-The-Art Technology For Election
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA - JUNE 16: Americans for Prosperity staff member Jeremy Baker, 27, speaks with Laura Ocker while canvassing on June 16, 2016 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity group is deploying hundreds of activists around the field this year to bolster Senate candidates, such as Pennsylvanias Pat Toomey. Theyre using state-of-the-art technology that feeds into a massive voter database. The Pennsylvania chapter of Americans for Prosperity will attempt to reach 700,000 voters statewide in the next 3 days with phone calls and door knocks. (Photo by Mark Makela for The Washington Post via Getty Images)The Washington Post The Washington Post/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

To the Republicans in the red “Can’t Afford Katie” T-shirts, it’s as if Donald Trump doesn’t even exist.

These activists have been sprinting through Pennsylvania neighborhoods, talking to people about how bad Democrat Katie McGinty would be as a U.S. senator. Here to help save Republican Sen. Pat Toomey — and, more broadly, the party’s control of the Senate — are employees and volunteers for Americans for Prosperity, the best-known group financed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch.

Similar scenes are playing out in North Carolina, Florida and Ohio.

In addition to having nail-biting Senate races this year, those four states are some of the most important battlegrounds in the presidential race. Yet the Koch activists interacting with millions of people who could be Trump’s most crucial voters aren’t supposed to utter a word about him or Hillary Clinton, a Democrat they’d been preparing for years to attack.

Four years after spending heavily in a futile effort to prevent President Barack Obama’s second term, the Kochs have pushed all of their resources down ballot. And their resources are ample: They’re on track to spend about $250 million on policy and politics in the two years leading to Election Day.

The brothers and many of their wealthy donor friends who fund the political and policy groups known as the Koch network have no interest in backing Trump. In a television interview in April, Charles Koch called Clinton and Trump “terrible role models” and trashed Trump’s “monstrous” proposal for a temporary ban of foreign Muslims entering the U.S.

Koch Network Refusing to Help Trump

In the months since, while many Republicans flipped back and forth as to whether to support their nominee, the Kochs never considered engaging in a Trump-Clinton match, even when some donors pressed them at a conference in August.

Instead, Koch groups have spent about $42 million on TV, radio and digital advertising in Senate races. As of this month, they have abandoned paid media altogether, preserving their money for what is a much more critical hole to plug: door-to-door advocacy.

Trump’s campaign has eschewed traditional political grunt work, leaving that to overworked national and state Republican parties, which must advocate for GOP candidates from Trump down to the local council members.

Outside groups led by a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., continue to spend on ads—they’ll hit about $100 million by Election Day. But the Senate GOP campaigns could really use help on the ground, and that’s where the Koch network comes in. Americans for Prosperity and other groups employ more than 1,200 across 36 states.

To operate as effectively as possible, the Kochs’ data analytics shop, called i360, identified what it believes are 5 million Senate control-deciding voters in eight states. Those voters are either Republicans who seem unenthusiastic this year, perhaps turned off by the ugliness of presidential race, or people who hadn’t quite made up their minds about the Senate contest but lean Republican.

Roughly 600,000 of those key voters are in Pennsylvania.

Trump’s Pennsylvania Supporters Grapple with New Accusations

During a recent weekend push in Bucks County, one of the most politically contested areas of the country, Americans for Prosperity temporarily imported employees from New Jersey and New Hampshire. There’s no Senate race in New Jersey, and the Kochs aren’t assisting Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., largely because she sided with the Obama administration’s moves to cut carbon emissions; that’s at odds with the Kochs’ push for fewer regulations.

At a hotel conference room one Thursday evening, Pennsylvania AFP field director Jeremy Baker prepped the out-of-state helpers for the no-nonsense attitude of many southeastern Pennsylvanians: “Well, they don’t want you to knock on their door at all, but when you do knock on the door, you want to be concise. You’re not going to have a 30-minute conversation with these folks. That being said, this is an area where we can have a lot of impact on this election.”

Part of the team had been out that afternoon, shoving their electronic tablets into Ziploc bags to protect them from a steady rainfall. They’re averaging about 11,000 door-knocks per week across the state. Very little stops them from going out every day.

“We’re asking people to vote against Katie McGinty,” Ed Saterstad, a 37-year-old part-time AFP employee, said to the man who’d answered the door, Bob Ryan.

For more on Trump, watch:

Saterstad began a short survey portraying McGinty as liberal and bad for Pennsylvania, asserting, for example, that her energy policies would raise prices. Saterstad chronicled Ryan’s responses on his tablet.

Less than a minute later, Saterstad concluded, “After hearing all this about Katie McGinty, does that make you more likely or less likely to support her?” Ryan chuckled. “I wasn’t going to support her anyway, but, less.”

Ryan later told a reporter no one had yet knocked on his door to talk about the presidential race. It’s just as well. Asked for his thoughts on it, he sighed heavily.

“I just can’t believe it’s the best we can do,” said the Republican-turned-independent. “I think Trump’s a disaster, and I think Clinton is a pure political opportunist. I’m aghast that that’s the best we can do, let’s put it that way.”

He wasn’t sure if he’d cast a vote for president. But if he does vote, he said, it’ll be for Toomey.

About the Author
By The Associated Press
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Students happy outside of school
SuccessColleges and Universities
One U.S. college is fixing tuition at just 10% of parental income: ‘We’re not hiding the cost of college behind secret formulas’
By Emma BurleighJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago
Sundar Pichai
SuccessCareers
Google CEO tells graduates to stop obsessing over first jobs because ‘very few moments are make or break’ in life—a lesson he learned in Vegas
By Preston ForeJune 25, 2026
2 hours ago
Softbank CEO dismisses Elon Musk’s extraterrestrial data center idea in favor of maximizing Earth-side construction now: ‘He who strikes first wins’
AITech
Softbank CEO dismisses Elon Musk’s extraterrestrial data center idea in favor of maximizing Earth-side construction now: ‘He who strikes first wins’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 25, 2026
3 hours ago
TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Ducket
SuccessFortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry
TIAA’s CEO made $26,000 in her first job but still maxed out her 401(k). She has advice for Gen Z
By Emma BurleighJune 25, 2026
3 hours ago
nido
Commentary250 Years of Innovation
As an immigrant turned entrepreneur and college president, here is why I celebrate our nation as it turns 250
By Nido R. QubeinJune 25, 2026
6 hours ago
A 6 year study shows which CEOs are pushing RTO mandates: The ones with the biggest egos
NewslettersCEO Daily
A 6 year study shows which CEOs are pushing RTO mandates: The ones with the biggest egos
By Claire ZillmanJune 25, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
10 hours ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
Economy
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.