A super PAC spending heavily in Alabama’s 1st Congressional District is funded entirely by out-of-state political committees, according to federal campaign finance records, with multiple contributors sharing the same address and treasurer.
Joshua McKee is one of several Republican candidates competing in a crowded primary for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, an open seat that has drawn significant national political attention. He faces better-known and better-funded opponents, including former Congressman Jerry Carl and State Representative Rhett Marques, with the winner expected to face Democrat Clyde Jones in the general election.
Filings with the Federal Election Commission show that Defend US PAC, a Virginia-registered super PAC, reported $227,000 in contributions from other political committees during the first quarter of 2026. The same filing shows the PAC has made $275,000 in independent expenditures supporting McKee’s campaign in Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
According to the PAC’s April 15 quarterly report, all reported contributions during the period came from six federal political committees. No individual donors were listed in that filing.
Four of those committees—Affordable Energy Fund PAC, Fund for a Working Congress, Leadership for Ohio Fund, and Safeguard Liberty PAC—list the same mailing address in Alexandria, Virginia, and the same treasurer in federal records. Federal law allows political committees to share vendors, addresses and compliance services, but the shared information indicates the committees are administratively connected.
The largest reported contribution to Defend US PAC during the period was $95,000 from Affordable Energy Fund PAC. Federal records show that committee reported no new receipts during the same reporting period, indicating the contribution was made using previously raised funds.
Another $40,000 contribution came from Americans United for Values, a Washington, D.C.-based super PAC. Federal records show that committee previously received funding from American Advancement Inc., a Maryland-based organization registered under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.
It has been involved in messaging related to the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare,” including campaigns tied to federal premium subsidies, according to reporting by Punchbowl News, with additional reporting available.
Organizations structured as 501(c)(4) entities are not required to publicly disclose their donors, meaning the original source of those funds cannot be determined from available public filings. Additional nonprofit records can be reviewed here.
Background on related organizations can be reviewed here.
Additional contributions disclosed in the filing include $35,000 from Fund for a Working Congress, which shares the same Alexandria address as Defend US PAC, $40,000 from Leadership for Ohio Fund, an out-of-state federal PAC active in prior election cycles, and $15,000 from Building a Strong America, a Washington-based political committee.
The final reported contribution to Defend US PAC came from Safeguard Liberty PAC, which is also registered to the same Alexandria, Virginia, address.
Federal filings show that Safeguard Liberty PAC has reported limited donor activity, including two contributions of $375,000 each from Benjamin Harris and David Chaney of Oklahoma.
According to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, Harris and Chaney have been charged with racketeering, embezzlement, and obtaining money by false pretenses following a multi-year investigation conducted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and an audit by State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd.
Court records indicate the charges remain pending. Under U.S. law, both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The records reviewed show that Defend US PAC’s funding during the reporting period originated entirely from political committees based outside Alabama.
Campaign finance law requires disclosure of contributions between political committees but does not require nonprofit organizations such as 501(c)(4) groups to disclose their donors. As a result, when such organizations are part of a funding chain, the original source of funds may not be fully visible in public records.
The filings trace how the money moved, but in some cases do not identify where it began.
