| LEESBURG, VA: A national right-wing Republican Super PAC has been caught attempting to meddle in the Democratic primary to help Elizabeth Lancaster’s campaign against Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj.
Mission American PAC, a federal Super PAC with no history in Virginia politics, spent $50,177 this week on mailers to support Lancaster and oppose Biberaj. One mailer urges Loudoun Republicans to “vote in the Democratic Primary for Commonwealth’s Attorney,” saying “as Republicans, we too can send a message to Buta Biberaj.”
Mission America PAC’s treasurer, Dustin McIntyre, is a Republican operative who serves as treasurer for 38 right-wing Super PACs that have supported Republican candidates in races across the country. In 2022, Mission America took its largest contribution – $55,000 – from Oklahoma’s Senate Majority Fund, which primarily spent to support Sen. Darcy Jech, a self-described “Trump Republican” who brags of being “100% pro-life.”
Josh Kivitt, a senior strategist for Majority Strategies, formed the Senate Majority Fund. Kivett was also a Senior Advisor to President Trump in 2020.
National Republicans and far-right groups have repeatedly attacked Biberaj – the first Democrat to win the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office in a generation – and the reforms that she has made. Lancaster works for John Whitbeck, the former chair of the Republican Party of Virginia. She told the Loudoun Times-Mirror that “she’ll bring in Sean Morgan, former Loudoun chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney from 2005 to 2019” under Republican Jim Plowman. She also has admitted to voting for an anti-choice Republican in the 2016 GOP primary.
On Tuesday, Biberaj’s campaign manager Chris Smith called on Lancaster to renounce the support from the right-wing Republican Super PAC.
“It’s clear that national Republicans are meddling in the Democratic primary to take Loudoun backwards, because they can’t stand the progress that Buta Biberaj is making as Commonwealth’s Attorney,” Smith said. “Under Buta Biberaj’s leadership, safety is up, crime is down and Loudoun has been smarter on criminal justice. This group of Trump Republicans wants to try to undo the progress that Buta Biberaj has made and take Loudoun back to old right-wing policies that did not and does not work. It’s clear that Buta Biberaj is the only candidate who will stand up for Democratic values and stop MAGA Republicans.”
The primary election is on Tuesday, June 20. |
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
