Libertarian tech investor commits $40 million to Republican statehouse push

Tech investor Scott Banister has committed $40 million to Make Liberty Win, a Republican-aligned political group seeking to blunt the rise of candidates linked to the Democratic Socialists of America in state legislative races, according to Fox News Digital.

The outlet reported that some of the money has already been deployed in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Montana, with plans to broaden the effort to at least a dozen states.

Fox News Digital described Banister as a libertarian and an early investor in companies including PayPal, Uber and SpaceX. His contribution is going to an organization that does not donate directly to candidates, but instead focuses on campaign field work such as door knocking and phone banking.

According to a press release cited by Fox News Digital, the campaign aims to mobilize student and youth activists to knock on the doors of more than two million voters in key states.

Fox News Digital said the funding arrives at a significant moment for Republicans in state-level politics. The outlet noted that the Republican State Leadership Committee had projected in late August that Democrats were on track to outspend Republicans in those races by three to one, although Democrats have previously challenged that claim.

The report also said the $40 million figure is a floor for the initiative and could rise if Banister or other donors add more money.

Make Liberty Win chief executive Jeff Frazee said, in remarks released by the organization and cited by Fox News Digital, that the group plans to carry out a broad strategy to counter socialist Democrats and win at the state level.

Sources

• Fox News Politics

About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.