### GOP Blames Third-Party Candidates for Narrow Election Losses

In the wake of the recent elections, Republicans are pointing fingers at third-party candidates for their narrower-than-expected House majority, potentially reducing their tight grip on control. Two super PACs have drawn significant scrutiny for their roles in these closely-fought contests.

One of the PACs, the Voter Protection Project, openly aims to target Republicans and spent significant sums to back Libertarian candidates in key races. The other, Save Western Culture, emerged in mid-October with mysterious funding and origins. Combined, these PACs disbursed $840,000 supporting Libertarian candidates in three critical races where Republicans experienced narrow defeats: Ohio, North Carolina, and Oregon.

As it stands, Republicans have secured 219 seats, just meeting the threshold for a two-seat majority, with three races still undecided. Had they clinched three additional seats, the GOP would have found more leeway to progress their legislative agenda next year. The tight discrepancies in these races, with Libertarian candidates attracting substantial votes, have led some GOP members to speculate about the spoilage effect of third-party contenders.

For instance, in northwestern Ohio, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur won by a slim margin of 1,193 votes against Republican Derek Merrin, while Libertarian Tom Pruss garnered 14,799 votes. The Voter Protection Project expended $423,263 on ads and mailers for Pruss starting October 21. Similarly, in eastern North Carolina, Rep. Don Davis, a freshman Democrat, secured victory over Republican Laurie Buckout by 6,303 votes, with Libertarian Tom Bailey taking 9,949 votes. Save Western Culture invested $46,348 to support Bailey. Additionally, in Oregon, Democrat Janelle Bynum defeated GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer by 9,475 votes, with Libertarian Sonja Feintech and independent Brett Smith receiving 6,033 and 18,233 votes, respectively. Together, the two PACs spent $371,340 on promoting Feintech.

Dan Conston, president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, highlighted these races in a post-election memo to donors. He emphasized that despite efforts to diminish Democratic candidates, the impact of third-party contenders "cost us seats."

While Libertarian voters typically lean toward Republican candidates, their absence from the ballot doesn't guarantee Republican votes; some might shift toward Democratic candidates or abstain altogether. Historically, both major parties have engaged in tactics to influence third-party candidacies to their advantage.

The Voter Protection Project, established by former Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Janz, has previously been active in other states like California and Montana. Save Western Culture’s operations remain more enigmatic; listed simply as a UPS store on Federal Election Commission records, it spent in about 20 races using previously unknown vendors. Republicans suspect a Democratic connection due to certain campaign strategies, but no direct links are evident from filings.

Both PACs are set to disclose their funding sources on December 5, which could offer insights into their motivations. The election cycle also saw other instances of third-party candidate promotion, such as a Democrat-associated group supporting a Constitution Party candidate in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

The strategy of bolstering third-party candidates works both ways, as revealed by some Democrats who believe a Green Party candidate hindered their chances to unseat GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Tucson, Arizona. Here too, the final margin reflected the Green Party's pull in a closely contested race.