A Donation to Youngkin’s PAC Shows One Problem of Money in Politics

Did Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) make a mistake by accepting $2 million from a TikTok billionaire for his super PAC? The answer is, as with so much in politics, maybe. It is complicated. 

When I teach introductory courses in political science, our class discussion inevitably lands on the large amount of money in politics. I tell students that if they learn nothing else in the course, they need to understand that money is at the root of power, for life in general, and certainly in politics. People use money to get the things they need. Likewise, money is what governments, and the politicians who run it, use to get their jobs done. Having money in politics is essential.

And nowhere is it more essential than in political campaigns. Running for office, from the school board to president, requires money, often lots of it. Campaigns need money for everything from yard signs to those oversized postcards we get in the mail. Money pays for staffers to run a campaign and enables candidates to travel around their districts, campaigning to constituents. All of those endless TV commercials aren’t free.

So, perhaps it should not be too much of a surprise when it was revealed that Youngkin received a contribution from billionaire Jeff Yass for the Spirit of Virginia political action committee. The PAC has been Youngkin’s weapon of choice to help fellow Republicans across Virginia as they run in legislative elections happening in just a few weeks. 

Why would Youngkin’s PAC need $2 million? Actually, Spirit of Virginia has raised just shy of $20 million since it started, over $12 million of that this year alone. And it has spent money this year to campaign on behalf of GOP candidates in Virginia and direct contributions to those candidates. PACs especially need money because they often face much higher costs than candidates. Based on Federal Communications Commission rules, candidates get the lowest rates available for the TV and radio ads that they run themselves, but PACs do not get those rates. PACs often must pay anywhere from three to five times as much, since they have to pay market rates (the same rates accident attorneys and car dealers pay). Youngkin has also used the Spirit of Virginia PAC to roll out splashy videos that seem more like presidential campaign ads than anything else. 

All of that spending is perfectly legitimate. PACs have a wide latitude for spending their money and if people don’t like the way they spend their money, they shouldn’t give money to that PAC. 

But does not necessarily work the other way around. PACs do need to be careful from whom and from where they get their money — especially a PAC run by a potential future presidential candidate (2028, if we are being realistic). 

Jeff Yass, co-founder of Susquehanna International Group and listed by Forbes as the 48th richest person in the world, has every right to give $2 million to the Spirit of Virginia PAC. Political action committees can be a more efficient way to spend your political contributions. They have no real limit on the amount they can accept, and because PACs are often issue- or party-oriented, they can dole out the money on a local level more efficiently than can an individual. 

But some say Yass is no ordinary billionaire. He has a $21 billion stake in ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese company that operates the social media site TikTok. Why does this matter? For one thing, because Youngkin issued an executive order banning the use of TikTok on state-run wireless networks. And if Youngkin is in the running, eventually, for the GOP presidential nomination, then Yass might view $2 million as a prudent investment in heading off a future nationwide TikTok ban. It would not be a stretch for Yass to be thinking this way; he has been a vocal opponent of such bans. 

The problem with all of this is that, by accepting the money, Youngkin appears to be hypocritical about his stand on TikTok (and, by extension, China). Youngkin has been a vocal critic of China and TikTok, falling in line with the general GOP position. True, Yass is not China (nor is he Chinese), but he does have a direct connection through his $21 billion investment to the very thing — TikTok — that many in the GOP are so critical of. This should make him radioactive, a political third rail. 

It is easy to speculate why Youngkin’s PAC accepted the donation, despite his professed opposition to TikTok. Money is power. That $2 million will allow Youngkin to put more money, more power, behind this year’s legislative races in Virginia. That kind of money could help the GOP win in Virginia, and if the Republicans can retain control of the House of Delegates and gain control of the state Senate, Youngkin could be poised to burnish his 2028 resume by turning a purple state red again — and with a fistful of legislative initiatives he finally could get passed. 

Youngkin is nothing if not pragmatic. He has shown again and again a certain political deftness that allows him to skate between the far right of his party and the middle right of the electorate. Will he be able to do so, despite taking “TikTok money”? Probably, because 2028 is a long way off when it comes to politics, and political memories are short.

David Richards, Ph.D., is associate professor, International Relations & Security Studies, and chair of the Political Science program and International Relations & Security Studies program in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Lynchburg.