Have any major Soros-funded organizations publicly supported Mark Kelly through independent expenditures or advertising since 2018?
Executive summary
Available reporting and campaign‑finance datasets in the provided sources do not identify any major Open Society / Soros‑funded organization explicitly making independent expenditures or running advertising in support of Mark Kelly since 2018; publicly available FEC and OpenSecrets pages are the primary places to check for such independent expenditures and donor links, and the provided OpenSecrets candidate and independent‑expenditure pages do not show a Soros‑funded group listed as paying for pro‑Kelly IEs [1] [2] [3]. Right‑wing outlets claim Soros networks bankrolled various left‑leaning groups and ads broadly, but those pieces in the selection do not document direct independent expenditures on behalf of Kelly [4] [5] [6].
1. What the official campaign‑finance sources show (and don’t show)
The Federal Election Commission candidate page for Mark Kelly and OpenSecrets’ independent‑expenditure and member profiles are the formal trails for outside spending; the FEC candidate overview page and OpenSecrets’ independent‑expenditure search are the standard records for independent ad buys and communication costs, and the FEC/OpenSecrets data in the provided results are the correct sources to consult for any IE linked to Kelly’s races [1] [2]. The supplied OpenSecrets links about Kelly’s fundraising and IE summaries do not, in the excerpts provided, list a Soros‑funded group as the payer of independent expenditures for Kelly since 2018 [7] [3]. Available sources do not mention a named Soros‑funded organization making pro‑Kelly IEs in that span.
2. Claims in the political press and their limits
Several conservative and activist outlets in the search results assert that Soros networks fund left‑wing ads and pass‑through groups; for example, articles accuse the Open Society network or affiliates of bankrolling groups that run political ads or “pass‑through” funding to political operations [5] [6]. However, those pieces in the collection make broader allegations about Soros‑linked fundraising and do not provide, in the excerpts shown, direct FEC‑filed evidence tying OSF or Soros Fund Management to independent expenditures specifically supporting Mark Kelly since 2018 [5] [6]. Where a source alleges specific transfers or grants (e.g., OSF grant to CCDH), that is about grants or grants to nonprofits — not independent expenditures reported to the FEC for candidate advertising — and the connection to pro‑Kelly ads is not shown in these excerpts [4].
3. Distinguishing grants, dark‑money giving, and independent expenditures
Open Society Foundations and other philanthropic grants cited in these search results (e.g., OSF grants to issue‑oriented nonprofits) are reported as philanthropic support and grantmaking; Ballotpedia and Wikipedia describe OSF’s grantmaking role but do not equate those grants with FEC‑reported independent expenditures for specific candidates [8] [9]. Independent expenditures are legally distinct: they must be disclosed to the FEC as IE or communication costs if they expressly advocate for or against a federal candidate. The OpenSecrets independent‑expenditure pages are the place where such IEs would appear, and the search excerpts do not show a Soros‑funded entity listed as having spent on pro‑Kelly IEs [2].
4. Examples of contested reporting and methodological caveats
The provided conservative pieces and partisan press items point to various networks and “pass‑through” groups allegedly tied to Soros dollars (e.g., 1630 Fund, CCDH, claimed redistributions via nonprofits), and independent researchers or partisan groups have published mappings of funds; those claims frequently depend on tracing grants, transfers among nonprofits, or PAC distributions rather than direct FEC‑filed independent expenditures for a named candidate [5] [10] [6]. The datasets and claims in the provided files do not resolve whether any Soros‑linked dollars ultimately financed advertising expressly advocating for Kelly — available sources do not mention such a final linkage to Kelly IEs.
5. Bottom line and what to search next
Based on the FEC and OpenSecrets pages cited and the other articles provided, there is no documented, FEC‑reported instance in these sources of a major Soros‑funded organization publicly making independent expenditures or ads specifically supporting Mark Kelly since 2018 [1] [2] [3]. To confirm definitively, review complete FEC IE filings for the 2018–2024 cycles and OpenSecrets’ IE payor lists for Kelly races (the FEC candidate and OpenSecrets independent‑expenditure tools are the authoritative records) because grants or philanthropic giving shown in other reporting are not the same as FEC‑reported independent expenditures [1] [2] [8].