Big-spending out-of-state groups, funded in some cases by anti-Trump billionaires like the Bezos family, hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, and Kenneth Griffin, among others, have spent millions on Tennessee’s 7th District Congressional race. Nearly half of it has been directed toward strident attacks on State Rep. Jody Barrett.
The funds have come from independent political action committees, mostly located outside of Tennessee, that are not controlled by any of the 11 Republicans seeking the nomination on October 7, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
More than $807,000 to date has been spent attacking Barrett, a conservative Dickson native who hasn’t always voted in lockstep with Republican leadership in the legislature. Barrett voted against a $2.1 billion franchise tax reform bill that diverted hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations outside the state. He also voted against Bill Lee’s private school voucher program that offered $7,300 scholarships to Tennessee students with no income cap. Most of those funds have apparently gone to students who were already enrolled in private schools.
School Freedom Fund, a super PAC tied to with Club for Growth, has spent more than $453,000 on ads attacking Barrett. School Freedom Fund strongly supported State Rep Lee Reeves in his race for state representative last year. Reeves is one of Barrett’s opponents in the GOP primary in the 7th District, to the state House last year. The PAC has also shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars on positive TV ads in the special Congressional race.
School Freedom Fund is funded solely this cycle by a $10 million donation from billionaire Jeff Yass earlier this year. Yass, a major TikTok investor, registered Libertarian and supporter of school choice policies, is one of the nation’s richest men, worth about $59 billion as of May according to Forbes. He has donated heavily to President Donald Trump this year as Trump weighs a potential ban or sale of TikTok.
Another PAC taking swings at Barrett is Conservatives for American Excellence, funded primarily by anti-Trump hedge fund magnate Paul Singer. The PAC has spent more than $306,000 attacking Barrett. Singer, whom Forbes estimates to be worth about $6.7 billion, is a longtime Republican establishment donor and an active supporter of LGBTQ+ equality efforts and Israeli startups. Singer was also reportedly behind the anti-Trump Russia dossier.
Another major donor to the group is Kenneth Griffin, CEO of Citadel, a Wall Street billionaire who is another vocal anti-Trumper.
The Singer-tied group has also received contributions from Coalition for American Excellence, a 501(c)(4) organization not required to publicly disclose its donors.
A PAC associated with the American Federation for Children, which has also backed Reeves in the past, has spent $25,000 attacking Barrett.
The House Freedom Caucus, and PACs tied to them, has spent about $350,000 in the race, some of which have targeted Matt Van Epps while promoting Barrett. The House Freedom Caucus has several current and former Tennessee Congressmen among its members, including Rep. Andy Ogles and Mark Green.
Outside groups have also spent more than $500,000 boosting former Tennessee General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, who has been endorsed by Mark Green, former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, and current Governor Bill Lee. Van Epps has received support from American Liberty Foundation and Patriotic Fund Inc.
Patriotic Fund Inc. is funded by contributions from the With Honor Fund II Inc., another super PAC, which is funded almost entirely by million-dollar contributions from Miguel and the late Jacklyn Bezos ― parents of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos was once a sharp critic of Trump, but has shifted to his favor since Trump’s reelection.
Steve Gill is the publisher and editor of TriStar Daily.
