After 2024 Loss, Democrats Push for a Broader Super PAC 'Ecosystem'

Democrats conducting a postmortem of the 2024 presidential campaign are reconsidering how super PACs are used, moving away from concentrating influence in a single organization and toward a more distributed model that leverages multiple groups and more localized messaging.

For years the party often rallied donors behind a single, "chosen" super PAC. In 2024, Future Forward was the preferred independent spender for the Democratic ticket. But many operatives, donors and strategists criticized its approach — especially the decision to hold the bulk of funding until the final months of the race rather than investing earlier to shape voter perceptions.

Critics argue that delaying spending reduced the campaign’s ability to frame the narrative when ad buys are cheaper and voters are forming opinions. One veteran Democratic operative said at the time that the group had "a ton of money" but failed to apply it when it could have had the greatest impact.

Key criticisms included:

Late spending that drove up costs and competed with a saturated fall ad market; broad national messaging that lacked state- and community-specific appeals; and missed opportunities to highlight policy achievements earlier in the cycle.

In response to that dissatisfaction, other major independent groups are positioning themselves to play larger roles in future cycles. Priorities USA — a leading spender in prior elections — and leaders of other super PACs have urged a shift away from a single dominant spender toward an "ecosystem" of organizations that share responsibility for strategy and execution.

"We no longer should be relying on one super PAC to determine spending decisions for the entire ecosystem," said Danielle Butterfield, executive director of Priorities USA.

"The model of having a single super PAC is a model that doesn't work for anyone except that independent expenditure," said Steve Schale, CEO of the super PAC Unite the Country. "Why wouldn't we create an ecosystem that brought more smart people to the table?"

Democratic strategist Karen Finney, who has discussed potential changes with party operatives, emphasized the need for messaging tailored to local concerns: "What people are talking about in Philadelphia is not the same as Madison, Wis., Oklahoma City and Chicago." Data, she says, supports more targeted, community-specific outreach.

Major donors — still frustrated by the 2024 outcome — have echoed the call for change. One prominent Democratic donor summarized the sentiment: "We should all realize that the system we were operating in doesn't work, full stop... having one super PAC calling the shots seems like a bad idea."

What comes next

Party leaders, fundraisers and strategists are weighing how to build a more flexible framework that preserves coordination while allowing multiple organizations to contribute resources, expertise and localized messaging. Challenges remain: donors will need mechanisms to coordinate without fracturing support, and leaders must ensure messaging coherence across many independent actors.

As Democrats plan for the next cycle, expect debates about timing of ad buys, the balance between national and local messaging, and governance of coordinated versus independent spending to take center stage.