Report: Unusual ‘fellowship’ paid high-profile repeat Democratic candidates between runs
According to a new report from the Washington Examiner, Amy McGrath was paid by the New Politics Leadership Academy for an “unusual fellowship” program that propped up failed candidates across the country until they were ready to announce another run for public office, potentially violating federal election laws.
Read more about the shady deal Amy McGrath made with her former employer:
- “Several repeat Democratic candidates in high-profile races who lost their 2018 bids for Congress got direct financial help from a nonprofit organization in the form of an unusual “fellowship” during the interim period before they launched 2020 campaigns.”
- “Previous comments from the group’s founder and director, Emily Cherniack, seemed to suggest that the fellowship endeavor is part of a creative way to give perpetual candidates a financial cushion in the brief period between runs for office in back-to-back election cycles.”
- “McGrath, the Democratic challenger to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a former Marine pilot, previously ran for Kentucky’s 6th House in 2018 but lost to incumbent Republican Rep. Andy Barr. She had a large war chest of $9.1 million despite losing her bid and was frequently mentioned as a potential Senate challenger to McConnell.”
- “A candidate financial disclosure form shows that she received $42,500 for the fellowship and $35,000 in consulting pay from New Politics, McGrath’s only listed non-investment income. She announced her 2020 bid in July 2019, six months after the New Politics fellowship was announced.”
And despite Amy McGrath’s opposition to the program, the New Politics Leadership Academy also received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, thanks to Senator McConnell’s work:
- “Democrats’ newly-minted Senate nominee in Kentucky, Amy McGrath, said that the monumental forgivable loan program, one that delivered relief to small businesses across America, does not go far enough.”
- “[T]his criticism is particularly hypocritical. FEC filings show that McGrath’s digital, advertising and direct mail consultants all benefited from the PPP loan program. The New Politics Leadership Academy (NPLA), where McGrath was a fellow, also received loans from the program…”