Complaint Filed Against DC-based Dark Money Tipping the Scales in Gallatin County

The office of Clerk and Recorder in Gallatin County has been occupied by a Democrat who was elected to office four years ago. The Republican challenger this election cycle, Marla Davis, has a long career as a physical therapist and has served as a dedicated event coordinator for the Gallatin County Republicans. Davis has ran a positive and honest campaign.

She has been clear about what she stands for, including election integrity, and that seems to have hit a nerve with the Democrats and national dark-money super PACs. Gallatin County has been flooded with three separate mailers, valued at an estimated $50,000, paid for by a dark money PAC from Washington DC called “Open Democracy PAC”. This PAC has violated Montana campaign law, not registering with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices and has not filed financial donor disclosures as required by law. The Gallatin County Republicans have launched an official complaint, but the damage that has already been done is irreversible.

The Democrat lawyer behind lawsuits challenging election integrity laws around the country, Marc Elias, sits on the advisory board of the Open Democracy PAC and has ties to other Soros-backed groups and dark money. Another of the PACs advisory board members, Jake Matilsky, worked for several years in Montana subverting election integrity laws including a $1.9 million campaign to defeat a ballot initiative that ended election day voter registration.

DC-based Open Democracy PAC is attacking Marla Davis with a smear campaign in order to sway this election. It is truly disconcerting and appalling that dark money and influence from outside of Montana is being used in the Clerk and Recorder’s race in Gallatin County.

It is no secret that Open Democracy PAC is targeting races for Secretaries of State, Clerk and Recorders, Attorneys General, and District Attorneys around the country. These are positions that run and administer our elections and uphold and enforce election integrity laws. The fact that this dark-money group has entered into this race should raise serious concerns for citizens in Gallatin County and throughout Montana.