Donor
Peter Thiel
IndividualThiel Capital, LLC, Founders Fund / Palantir · California
6 reported gifts; 2 recipient groups listed, as reported to the FEC by the groups that received them.
Peter Thiel gave $2.2M to super PACs and other outside groups in the 2020 federal elections, and 100% of it helped Republicans (FEC filings with varying coverage dates; the most common larger-campaign cutoff is Dec 31, 2020). Among dollars with a matched election-stage result, 5% were on the winning side ($34K won, $665K lost). $1.2M had no matched result and is excluded.
Gave to outside spenders
$2.2M
100% of it helped Republicans
Winning share of scored dollars
5%
$699K scored (32% of gifts)
Spent on the losing side
$665K
Not allocated or result unknown
$1.5M
$314K not allocated to tracked outside spending; $1.2M has no matched result. Neither is cash on hand.
Where the checks went
| Group | Gave | How the group spent it | Won / lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Forever Political Action Committee $275K not allocated to tracked outside spending | $2.1M | $0 / $639K | |
| Senate Leadership Fund $39K not allocated to tracked outside spending | $100K | $34K / $27K |
The trail
What the money bought
| Candidate | Race | Spending | Their share | Paid off? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kris Kobach | Kansas Senate (primary) | Supporting | $1.2M | Unknown |
| Roger Marshall | Kansas Senate (primary) | Attacking | $639K | ✗ No |
| Jon Ossoff | Georgia Senate | Attacking | $18K | ✗ No |
| Cal Cunningham | North Carolina Senate | Attacking | $10K | ✓ Yes |
| Steve Bullock | Montana Senate | Attacking | $5K | ✓ Yes |
| Theresa Greenfield | Iowa Senate | Attacking | $4K | ✓ Yes |
| Gary Peters | Michigan Senate | Attacking | $4K | ✗ No |
| Jaime Harrison | South Carolina Senate | Attacking | $3K | ✓ Yes |
| Barbara Bollier | Kansas Senate | Attacking | $3K | ✓ Yes |
| Mark Kelly | Arizona Senate | Attacking | $3K | ✗ No |
| Sara I. Gideon | Maine Senate | Attacking | $3K | ✓ Yes |
| Joni Ernst | Iowa Senate | Supporting | $3K | ✓ Yes |
Individual as classified from the FEC entity type and public reporting.
Questions people ask
- How much did Peter Thiel spend on the 2020 elections, and did it win?
- Peter Thiel gave $2.2M to super PACs and other outside groups in the 2020 federal elections, and 100% of it helped Republicans (FEC filings with varying coverage dates; the most common larger-campaign cutoff is Dec 31, 2020). Among dollars with a matched election-stage result, 5% were on the winning side ($34K won, $665K lost). $1.2M had no matched result and is excluded.
- Which super PACs did Peter Thiel fund in 2020?
- Free Forever Political Action Committee ($2.1M), Senate Leadership Fund ($100K).
- Which candidates did Peter Thiel's money end up backing or attacking in 2020?
- for Kris Kobach (Kansas Senate, about $1.2M, unknown); against Roger Marshall (Kansas Senate, about $639K, lost); against Jon Ossoff (Georgia Senate, about $18K, lost). Amounts are the donor's share of each group's spending.