Two “progressive” super PACs linked to House GOP
Two newly formed super PACs which purport to be progressive are linked to House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), a Popular Information investigation reveals.
On April 24, a super PAC called California Blue registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). According to its bare-bones website, the PAC was created to support candidates who will “fight— really fight— against Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists attacking our communities.”
California Blue’s spending patterns, however, are raising questions about its true intentions. All of its money is being funneled through a mysterious vendor — Four Ponies Consulting LLC, which was incorporated on April 29 in Wyoming. Of the tens of thousands of other committees registered with the FEC, only one other entity, Real Change PAC, has made payments to Four Ponies. California Blue and Real Change have spent over $1.7 million combined and every dollar has gone to Four Ponies. By routing their money through a newly formed LLC, both PACs are able to conceal their political ideology. Most established political vendors work exclusively with one political party.
Real Change, which claims it is “dedicated to electing grassroots candidates who are committed to progressive values,” is suspected to be a clandestine Republican operation. In New Jersey’s 7th District, incumbent Republican Thomas Kean Jr. is at risk of losing in November. Real Change is spending money attacking the Democratic frontrunner, Rebecca Bennett, while promoting her primary opponents. Footage in the Real Change ads attacking Bennett was previously used by the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), the super PAC of the House Republicans.
California Blue’s strategy is a bit subtler. It is only active in California’s 40th Congressional District, which is rated as a “Solid Republican“ district. Due to redistricting, however, two Republican incumbents, Young Kim and Ken Calvert, are both competing in the June 2 primary. Notably, California uses a “jungle primary” system where all candidates compete against each other and the top two advance to the general election, regardless of party. Currently, Kim and Calvert are leading the polls, potentially setting the stage for an expensive all-GOP bloodbath in the general election.
California Blue is running ads supporting Esther Kim Varet, the leading Democratic candidate in the district. If Kim Varet secures one of the two general election spots, the surviving Republican would likely cruise to victory on Election Day.
There appears to be considerable effort taken to obscure California Blue’s true intentions. The treasurer listed on its FEC filings is Paul Primm, an individual with no online political footprint. California Blue lists its address as 3571 Far West Boulevard in Austin, Texas — a mailbox at a shipping facility called Postnet.
Of the approximately 5,500 political committees that have been created during the 2026 cycle, only one other lists 3571 Far West Boulevard as its address, the Stop Talarico PAC. James Talarico is Texas’ Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
The treasurer and contact person for the Stop Talarico PAC is Lisa Lisker. Lisa Lisker is a Republican political operative and the treasurer for Mike Johnson’s campaign committee.
Lisker is also connected to the CLF. She is the treasurer of Grow the Majority, one of the CLF’s joint fundraising committees. Johnson uses Grow the Majority to collect large contributions which are then distributed to the CLF and individual House candidates. Popular Information previously connected another purportedly progressive super PAC, Lead Left, to the CLF.
Lisker’s firm, Huckaby Davis Lisker, works for numerous top Republican committees including the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Lisker and Huckaby Davis Lisker did not respond to a request for comment.
The same mailbox — 3571 Far West Boulevard — was used in the 2024 cycle for a PAC called the Progressive Century Project. The Progressive Century Project spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking, from the left, then-Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who was running for Senate against Republican Kari Lake,. The group also supported the Green Party candidate, Eduardo Quintana. It was described by one political analyst as a “likely Republican astroturf operation.”
The Progressive Century Project also went to considerable lengths to hide its backers. Again, the listed treasurer, Gary Bacus, had no political footprint. It received all of its funding through a newly created shell organization, Building Our Future Today, LLC. In January 2025, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that Building Our Future Today “was established and used to funnel money to… super PACs while illegally concealing the identities of the true contributors.”
On April 15, 2026, long after the media scrutiny of the Progressive Century Project had faded, the group appeared to inadvertently reveal its political leanings. It reported a payment of $2,881 to First Street PLLC, a law firm that works exclusively with Republican political organizations.
The firm’s founder, Republican operative Chris Ashby, boasts that he has been “pioneering the use of LLCs and other for-profit corporate forms for political purposes.”
Mike Johnson is a straw man propped up by the GOP to do their dirty work. He likes the power. But as he pretends to be a choir boy, every time he turns around, there's dirt on his backside and under his fingernails.
So senior Republican leaders have their fingerprints on a ratf**king operation. In what world is this acceptable?