In Ohio's U.S. Senate race, a super PAC called Buckeye Freedom PAC has spent more than $3.8 million promoting Libertarian Bill Redpath and attacking Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Husted is in a close race with Democrat Sherrod Brown. Redpath has raised and spent far less than the group spending on his behalf.
That pattern is common this year. An Axios analysis found super PAC money supporting 43 third-party and independent candidates in key House and Senate races, more than $16.5 million in total. On average, the groups have spent about $375,000 more than the candidates themselves. More than half of those candidates have filed no financial reports with the FEC.
The strategy is simple. If some of a major-party candidate's likely voters can be pulled to a third option, that candidate's opponent benefits. Axios found groups aligned with both parties doing this.
The biggest spenders
| Super PAC | Race | Spending reported | Candidate supported | Signs of who's behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckeye Freedom PAC | Ohio Senate | $3.8M+ | Bill Redpath (Libertarian); also opposes Sen. Jon Husted (R) | Formed in October; donors not yet disclosed |
| Alaska Values PAC | Alaska Senate | $3.8M | Gerald Heikes, a self-identified Republican on the ranked-choice ballot with Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R) and Mary Peltola (D) | Formed in October; donors not yet disclosed |
| Our Heritage Matters | 20+ House and Senate races | Nearly $3.7M | Mostly Libertarians, presented as conservative alternatives to Republicans | Formed Oct. 15; donors not yet disclosed |
| Enough Promises Ohio | Ohio Senate | $2.6M | Greg Levy (independent, Party for Socialism and Liberation), who has rejected the group's support | Shares vendors with Republican groups, including MAGA Inc. |
| Progressive Champions PAC | VA-2; MI-4 | $480K+; $500K+ | Matthew Baker (independent); Shafina Barnett (Green) | Used by Republicans earlier this year to boost preferred Democrats in House primaries |
| Principled Patriots PAC | 15 House and Senate races | $600K+ | Right-leaning and Libertarian candidates | Its ad vendor, Movement Labs, works mainly for Democrats |
Source: Axios, based on FEC filings and Google's Ad Transparency Center.
Several of these groups formed in October. As we explained in The Rise of the Pop-Up Super PAC, a super PAC formed after mid-October doesn't have to name its donors until Dec. 3, a month after the election.
Both parties are doing it
The table shows spending aimed at each side's voters:
- Aimed at Republican voters: Buckeye Freedom, Alaska Values, Our Heritage Matters and Principled Patriots are promoting Libertarians, independent conservatives or self-described Republicans. Their messages present these candidates as the real conservative choice. Principled Patriots' ad vendor mostly serves Democratic clients.
- Aimed at Democratic voters: Enough Promises Ohio is promoting a socialist candidate with mailers about "revolution," and it shares vendors with Republican groups. Progressive Champions PAC is pushing independents and Green Party candidates by highlighting their liberal positions.
Axios also reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted public messaging guidance on its website. This kind of guidance is often called a "redbox" and is widely read as a way to signal to outside groups without coordinating with them illegally. Some of the guidance described how third-party candidates in certain races should be pitched to particular voters. For example, the VA-2 page says Matthew Baker should be presented to college-educated white men as a strong supporter of gun rights. Our Heritage Matters began spending for Baker soon after.
In Alaska, the New York Times reported that Heikes and another self-described Republican on the ballot, Dan J. Sullivan, were recruited to run. Republicans have long said Dan J. Sullivan's name was meant to confuse voters choosing between him and Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. According to Axios, the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied recruiting any third-party candidates.
The candidates didn't ask for this
Some of the candidates being promoted object to it. Baker, who calls himself a "radical centrist," told the Times that a Progressive Champions mailer made him "mad as hell" and that the group was "trying to use me to trick people." Levy has rejected Enough Promises Ohio's backing. In South Carolina, Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett told Axios he had spent nothing and asked no one for help, and that he still doesn't know who the groups supporting him are.
Under federal law, a candidate cannot stop an independent group from spending on their behalf.
Is it legal?
Generally, yes. Super PACs may support or oppose any candidate, as long as they don't coordinate with the candidate or party they are trying to help. There is no rule against boosting a third-party candidate to hurt someone else. A party committee posting public guidance, as the DCCC did, is not illegal coordination under current FEC interpretations.
The legal questions come from other directions:
- Disclosure timing. Groups formed after Oct. 15 don't have to identify their donors until after the election.
- Recruitment. If a campaign or party had a hand in recruiting a candidate, that could raise coordination or in-kind contribution questions. So far, the Alaska recruitment story is an allegation that the Peltola campaign and the DSCC deny.
Defenders of the practice, in both parties, note that third-party candidates are real choices on the ballot, and that telling voters about them is accurate political speech. Critics say the motive is to divide the other side's voters, not to inform them.
Why it could matter
$16.5 million is small compared with the billions spent this year. But these groups are concentrating their money in races expected to be very close: Ohio, Alaska, Nebraska, Virginia's 2nd and Michigan's 4th. Nebraska has drawn the most separate efforts. Groups have spent more than $450,000 for Working People Party candidate Robin Richards and $115,000 for Legal Marijuana Now's Mike Marvin, in a race where Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts's main opponent is independent Dan Osborn. In a close race, a few thousand votes for a third-party candidate could decide the outcome.
What to watch
- Third-party vote shares on Nov. 3 in the races above, compared with the margin between the two leading candidates.
- Dec. 3 post-general reports, which will show who funded Buckeye Freedom, Alaska Values, Our Heritage Matters and others.
- Complaints. Any FEC or state complaints over recruitment or coordination. The FEC still lacks a quorum to act on them.
For more on how super PACs work, see our explainer and glossary.
Sources
- Axios: Dems and GOP quietly bankroll dozens of third-party spoilers (Nov. 1, 2026)
- CNBC: 'Pop-up' super PACs spend record sums (Oct. 31, 2026)
Published by SuperPACs.com. Figures come from Federal Election Commission filings and the sources listed above. Read about how we work and our editorial standards.