Secretive PAC Under Fire for Non-Disclosure in Montana Senate Race

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In the latter half of 2023, a secretive political action committee began airing ads against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. The details about the Last Best Place PAC’s funding, spending capacity, and personnel were undisclosed.

The lack of transparency carried over into early 2024, leading to a complaint by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) with the Federal Election Commission. CLC, a nonpartisan watchdog based in Washington D.C., then sued the PAC for failing to meet federal election disclosure laws.

From September to February, Last Best Place PAC classified expenditures for ads targeting Sheehy as operating expenses, which are reported quarterly rather than within 48 hours as required. CLC claims the PAC improperly disclosed $2 million spent on ads from September to December 2023.

The origins of Last Best Place PAC’s funds remain unclear. The group raised $12.5 million since September 2023 and spent $12.8 million against Sheehy by July. The only identified individual in its organization is treasurer Dave Lewis of Helena, a former state budget director and state senator known for cross-party donations.

The PAC’s sole contributor is Majority Forward, a dark money nonprofit. Tax filings indicate Majority Forward’s president in 2019 was J.B. Poersch, with board members linked to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Majority Forward has supported other Montana political players, like VoteVets and Montana Native Vote.

Poersch also presides over Senate Majority PAC, an independently run committee focused on winning Senate races. Though officially registered as SMP, it operates under the name “Senate Majority PAC” in communications signed by treasurer Rebecca Lambe, also a former Reid staffer and Majority Forward’s treasurer. This election cycle, Majority Forward has funded only Senate Majority PAC and Last Best Place PAC.

According to The Hill, Poersch is a close associate of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and previously led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2010.