Liberal donors, including financier George Soros, are preparing to give up to $100 million to independent liberal and progressive groups to help Democrats this fall, the New York Times reports. But instead of donating to super PACs as conservative donors have done, and where Democratic donors feel they will always be outmatched, “the donors are focusing on grass-roots organizing, voter registration and Democratic turnout.”
From the Times:
But in interviews, donors and strategists involved in the effort said they also did not believe they could match advertising spending by leading conservative groups like American Crossroads and Americans for Prosperity, and instead wanted to exploit what they see as the Democrats’ advantage in grass-roots organizing.
“Super PACs are critically important,” said Rob Stein, the founder of the Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal donors who will convene near Miami this week to discuss where to steer their money this year. But the liberal groups, he said, believe that local efforts and outreach through social media “can have an enormous impact in battleground states in 2012.”
