ORLANDO, Fla. — The dark-money nonprofit that worked with Republican strategists last year to promote spoiler independent candidates in important state Senate races in Florida also raised more than $700,000 from organizations controlled by Democratic fundraisers.
The nonprofit, Grow United Inc., which is based out of a UPS Store in Denver, provided more than half a million dollars last fall that Republican strategists used to advertise little-known independent candidates who did no campaigning of their own in three key Senate elections — one in Central Florida and two in South Florida. The ads appeared designed to appeal to voters who might otherwise have voted for the Democrats in the three races, all of which were ultimately won by Republicans, helping the GOP retain control of the 40-member Florida Senate.
But even as it financed efforts to undermine Democratic Senate candidates, Grow United also received hundreds of thousands of dollars from groups that were supporting those same candidates.
