Mitch McConnell personally recruited Smiley to run for Senate in WA; McConnell: “Tiffany Smiley in Washington state is outstanding”

ICYMI: Tiffany Smiley: “We Need Mitch McConnell’s Money to Win”

(Seattle, WA) — With voting already underway in Washington, and just 12 days before Election Day, Mitch McConnell’s super PAC — the Senate Leadership Fund — is pouring money into Washington state in a last-ditch attempt to boost the chances of his handpicked candidate, anti-abortion extremist and climate denier Tiffany Smiley.

According to new FEC disclosures, Mitch McConnell’s super PAC dropped a whopping $1.25 million earlier this month into the Smiley-aligned Evergreen Principles PAC, which has been spending big in Washington’s U.S. Senate race to boost Tiffany Smiley’s campaign.

Smiley has begged for McConnell’s money before — notably, at a campaign event, she talked about a “very public” meeting she had with Mitch McConnell and proceeded to say, “we need Mitch McConnell’s money here to win.”

“With just days to go before the election, Mitch McConnell is helping to flood the airwaves in Washington state in a desperate attempt to get his handpicked candidate Tiffany Smiley to Washington DC, so she can rubber-stamp his extreme agenda,” said Washington State Democratic Party spokesperson Caitlin Harrington. “Washington voters deserve a Senator who will fight for our values — not someone who is there to do Mitch McConnell’s bidding.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has already spent more than $800,000 toward electing Smiley. Additionally, Trump-funded super PAC Our American Century — which OpenSecrets describes as “a single-candidate super PAC in support of Donald Trump” — dropped more than $800,000 on TV ads to prop up Smiley.

Smiley is campaigning and raising money alongside some of the most prominent and hateful election deniers in national far-right politics. Stephen Schwarzman is a Smiley donor and supporter. Schwarzman is a longtime Trump supporter and funder, who gave $344,000 to Trump’s campaign and defended his illegitimate lawsuits over the 2020 election results. Schwarzman and his wife have donated a total of $46 million to outside groups that spent to help elect Republican election deniers.

Tiffany Smiley has also accepted thousands in direct contributions to her campaign account from other extremist Republican donors who gave money to groups and legislators who sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election — Richard Uihlein, Cliff Asness, and Laurel Asness. Uihlein in particular helped fund the March to Save America Rally that preceded the violent insurrection on January 6th.

Smiley has also received more than $100,000 from Leadership PACs of sitting Senators including insurrectionists who voted against certifying the 2020 elections, such as: Rick Scott, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Cynthia Lummis, and John Kennedy.

###