Private Equity Execs Bankroll Super PAC Backing Moulton vs. Markey

Private equity and venture capital executives are the largest financial backers of a super PAC working to unseat Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts’ Democratic primary, Federal Election Commission records show.

The super PAC, Advance Progress, has received more than $1.6 million from over 20 donors in the private equity and venture capital industries, accounting for more than 40 percent of its total funding, according to FEC filings. The donations come as Markey supports closing a tax loophole that benefits private equity and venture capital fund managers.

Among the largest donors to Advance Progress are partners at Bain Capital, Berkshire Partners, and Insight Partners. Richard Wells, a director at Insight Partners, contributed $400,000 in two donations. David Peeler and Robert Small of Berkshire Partners gave a combined $350,000, while Bain Capital partners Joshua Bekenstein and Christopher Gordon donated $175,000 combined.

Markey has been a vocal advocate for eliminating the carried interest tax loophole, which allows investment managers to have some of their compensation taxed at lower capital gains rates. He is an original co-sponsor of a Senate bill aimed at closing this loophole. In contrast, Moulton, who is seeking to replace Markey, has not cosponsored any of the standalone Carried Interest Fairness Acts introduced in the House during his tenure, despite expressing support for closing the loophole in a 2019 tax plan while running for president.

In July, Advance Progress received a $180,000 transfer from MA Progress Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that does not disclose its donors. MA Progress Action is led by Todd Kanter, a managing director at Silvercrest Asset Management and a strategic advisor to hedge fund CKM Partners. In April, the group aired an ad criticizing Markey and other older members of Congress for what it called "chronic reelection disorder." The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the FEC, alleging that the ad should have been reported as a political expenditure and that MA Progress Action should register as a PAC. The group has dismissed the complaint as "frivolous" and stated that its ads are "educational."

Advance Progress has spent at least $5.4 million to support Moulton and oppose Markey, far exceeding the $2.2 million spent by Commonwealth Together, a super PAC backing Markey, according to FEC data.

The largest donor to Commonwealth Together is Public First Action, a nonprofit funded by AI company Anthropic. The next largest donors, each contributing $450,000, are Robert Hale, CEO of Granite Telecommunications, and John McQuillan, CEO of Triumvirate Environmental. Labor unions, including 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, provided more than a quarter of the pro-Markey group’s funding.