Foreign influence on US elections

 Federalist Wire:

A growing number of states are taking steps to prevent foreign influence in their ballot initiative processes following revelations that a dark money group funneled foreign billionaires’ wealth into U.S. state campaigns last year.

As of October, the Sixteen Thirty Fund—a nonprofit responsible for directing over $1 billion in dark money to Leftist causes—had already poured more than $37 million into state ballot initiatives.

A significant portion of this funding comes from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who has contributed $243 million to the group. Wyss has openly stated that he has “never felt the need to become an American” but wants to “(re)interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.”

In response to concerns about foreign influence, Ohio set a precedent in June by becoming the first state to ban both direct and indirect foreign funding of state ballot initiatives. Since June, at least eight other states have introduced measures to curb foreign money in these campaigns.

Just last week, the Mississippi Senate, along with the Kentucky and Wyoming Houses, passed legislation to prohibit foreign nationals from financing ballot issue campaigns. Similar efforts gained traction in Indiana and Kansas, where their respective Houses passed related legislation. Meanwhile, legislative committees in Indiana and Utah advanced comparable bills, and Tennessee and Missouri have introduced similar proposals.

The issue has also caught the attention of federal lawmakers. This past December, the House committee overseeing federal elections held a hearing to address loopholes that permit foreign nationals to give to political campaigns.

The influence of the Sixteen Thirty Fund has been particularly notable in recent election cycles, where it played a role in shaping ballot initiatives in politically crucial states. According to Americans for Public Trust, the fund directed substantial financial support to ballot measures in several swing states or states with competitive Senate races.

In Arizona, the fund contributed $1.25 million to an abortion rights ballot initiative, which passed and enshrined abortion protections in the state constitution. Nevada saw a similar measure, receiving $500,000 from the fund ahead of a November ballot vote. These efforts aligned with Democratic hopes that abortion-related ballot measures would boost voter turnout in key states.

Beyond Arizona and Nevada, the Sixteen Thirty Fund has funneled money into ballot initiatives in Ohio, Florida, Nebraska, Montana, Missouri, and Alaska. Since 2014, it has spent nearly $130 million across 25 states—allocating $34 million to Michigan, $21 million to Ohio, $17 million to Florida, $13 million to Missouri, $11 million to Colorado, $7 million to Nevada, approximately $3.5 million to North Carolina, and roughly $1.5 million to Arizona.

If more states succeed in passing legislation to block foreign nationals from funding ballot campaigns, these financial flows could be significantly curtailed.
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If they are trying to influence elections in Texas I have not noticed.  Texas is a huge state with several distinct markets making it more expensive to try to influence voters.  Democrats are also a minority in Texas that does not win many statewide races.  They do tend to do well with some minorities in large cities.

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