Deval Patrick PAC outperforms other potential 2020 contender PACs

By Maggie Mulvihill and Jenny Rollins

Donations to a political action committee aimed at boosting Democratic candidates while also testing former Massachusetts’ Gov. Deval Patrick’s White House ambitions have far outpaced contributions made to PACs formed by other potential 2020 presidential contenders, newly released data from the Center for Responsive Politics shows.

The Reason to Believe PAC has generated nearly $350,000 in contributions since it was formed by former Patrick campaign operatives in August. The pro-Patrick PAC dwarfed fundraising efforts started last summer by other Democratic White House hopefuls, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has drawn $47,000 from donors. The Reason to Believe PAC also edged out donations made to a PAC formed in July by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, with a more formidable showing of $232,500, the most recent federal campaign finance filings show.

Attorney Michael Avenatti’s PAC has drawn a meager $11,908 to date, the data shows.

“It’s a pretty good chunk for a newly formed PAC,” said CRP Individual Contributions Researcher Alex Baumgart of the Pro-Patrick PAC’s yield to date. “I expect that they see this as indicative of a pretty solid startup.”

Patrick, 62, a former federal civil rights lawyer, served two terms as Massachusetts governor before leaving in 2015 to work for the investment firm Bain Capital. He has resurfaced politically this year as he hints at a 2020 run, stating through advisors he will make a decision by year’s end.

The Reason to Believe PAC, which shares the same name as Patrick’s 2011 autobiography, is aimed at “promoting Governor Patrick’s positive vision for Democrats to rally around in 2018,” according to its website.

The bulk of the PAC’s funding comes from a single donor – Dan Fireman, who provided $245,000 on Sept. 18, as well as a $5000 contribution the same day. Fireman is a managing partner with the private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners in Boston. Boston developer John Fish gave $45,000 and another $5000 donation on Sept. 28, the filings show. Charlie Zink donated $20,000 on Sept. 24, listing his affiliation as the Florida firm Rosewater Advisory LLC, the filings show.

The hybrid nature of the PAC, also known as a Carey Committee, allows it to maintain two separate bank accounts that can accept donations of up to $5,000 and another that can accept unlimited contributions for independent expenditures.

Those giving within the $5,000 limit mainly come from Massachusetts but also include contributors from as far away as Kentucky, Oregon and Georgia, the data shows.

Those donors range from Massachusetts state Auditor Suzanne M. Bump, a Democrat, to local lawyers to a Boston Globe Media human resources executive to Massachusetts entrepreneur and City Year Inc. co-founder Alan Khazei.

The Reason to Believe PAC spent $17,935 last quarter mainly on advertising and consulting services, including a $10,000 payment to Northwind Strategies, the data shows. Northwind’s founding partner, Doug Rubin, helped establish the PAC and is one of Patrick’s key advisors.

Messages with the PAC’s Boston office were not immediately returned.

Patrick, a personal friend of Barack Obama, has been hitting the campaign trail for Democrats throughout the year. This month he was stumping in New Jersey for Josh Welle, running in the 4th Congressional District and in Georgia to rally voters for Lucy McBath, who is seeking a 6th Congressional District seat. In July, he made appearances on behalf of Democratic nominee Colin Allred in a Texas battleground district, where he was facing off against Republican Rep. Pete Sessions. Earlier in the year, he backed Democratic Sen. Doug Jones as he successfully battled Republican Roy Moore for an Alabama Senate seat.

Still, before Patrick can move forward, he’s got a few fires to put out – like making sure his staff can spell his name. The home page of his own official website spelled his name in one spot as “Meet Davel!