Democrats United is a political action committee (PAC) that received criticism during the 2024 presidential election for soliciting political donations yet spending much of the funds raised on operating expenses rather than directly supporting Democratic candidates. ^{1 2}

Background

Democrats United is a political action committee (PAC) that received criticism during the 2024 presidential election for soliciting political donations yet spending much of the funds raised on operating expenses rather than directly supporting Democratic candidates. ^{3 2}

In August 2024, a Tampa Bay Times report labeled Democrats United a “scam PAC” which “claims to raise money for candidates but instead pockets most of the funds.” Between January 2023 and August 2024, Democrats United gave little to “federal candidates, party committees or super PACs.” Despite Democrats United sending out text messages stating “700% MATCH ACTIVE! Give now to help Kamala Harris and Democrats win!,” the PAC “funneled most of its cash back into fundraising.” ¹

In October 2024, Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue blocked Democrats United from fundraising through the ActBlue site after the platform determined Democrats United misused its tools despite ActBlue reminding the PAC earlier about its account use policies. ²

Democrats United is tied to Democratic Power Inc. and Democratic Victory Inc., two other PACs that were similarly criticized during the 2024 elections for their fundraising efforts. ²

Ryan Morgan, a political strategist, is affiliated with Democrats United. ² Morgan is the founder of Veracity Media, a digital advertising agency, ⁴ and PACtion Data, a Democratic-aligned data organization firm specializing in providing email lists for clients. ⁵ Morgan has also advised the Campaign for Free College Tuition on various communication strategies since 2014. ⁴ Morgan is associated with Democratic Power Inc. and Democratic Victory Inc. and is an officer at Democratic Power. ⁶

Financials

In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Democrats United received over $5 million in total contributions, spent over $3.9 million on operating expenditures, and contributed $1.2 million to other committees. ⁷

Of the $3.9 million spent on operating expenditures, over $1 million was spent on data services from PACtion Data, Morgan’s data organization company. ⁸

Contributions to other committees included $5,000 to the Rolling Sea Action Fund, $20,000 to the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin Political Fund, $100,000 to Retire Career Politicians, over $100,000 to VoteVets, and over $500,000 to Senate Majority PAC. ⁹ Democrats United ended 2024 with just over $220,000 cash-on-hand. ¹⁰

1. Moske, Nina. “Getting Flooded with Election Texts? Here’s How to Spot a Scam.” Tampa Bay Times, August 11, 2024. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/08/05/getting-flooded-with-election-texts-heres-how-spot-scam/.
2. Stein, Sam. “Dem Scam Pacs That Harris Criticized Are Booted off Fundraising Platform.” The Bulwark, October 17, 2024. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/actblue-boots-democratic-scam-pacs-harris-criticized
3. ^[1] Moske, Nina. “Getting Flooded with Election Texts? Here’s How to Spot a Scam.” Tampa Bay Times, August 11, 2024. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/08/05/getting-flooded-with-election-texts-heres-how-spot-scam/.
4. “Who We Are.” The Campaign For Free College Tuition. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.freecollegenow.org/who-we-are.
5. “The Leader in Democratic List Acquisition.” PACtion, September 14, 2023. https://www.paction.us/.
6. Stein, Sam. “Harris Camp Warns Supporters: Don’t Get Duped by ‘Scam Pacs.’” The Bulwark, July 29, 2024. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/harris-camp-warns-of-democratic-scam-pacs.
7. “Democrats United – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 8, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00819631/.
8. “Browse Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00819631&two_year_transaction_period=2024&cycle=2024&line_number=F3X-21B&data_type=processed.
9. “Browse Disbursements.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00819631&two_year_transaction_period=2024&cycle=2024&line_number=F3X-23&data_type=processed.
10. “Democrats United – Committee Overview.” FEC.gov. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00819631/?tab=summary&cycle=2022