There’s a new playbook in Democratic politics, and it has nothing to do with winning over voters. Instead, left-wing megadonors have figured out that the cheapest way to neutralize a conservative isn’t at the ballot box in November. It’s to quietly bankroll a more compliant challenger in the Republican primary — before most voters are even paying attention. Subtle? Sure. Corrupt? Absolutely.
What makes the whole operation so brazen is the packaging. The attack ads don’t carry Democratic branding. The super PACs wrap themselves in harmless-sounding names. And the billionaires writing the checks? They’re the same ones funneling millions to Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, and — I kid you not — the Jane Fonda Climate PAC.
From Fox News:
A clean energy super PAC bankrolled by a left-wing billionaire is pouring millions into an effort to unseat Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., as he wages a bid for re-election in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition super PAC had spent roughly $1.3 million on opposing Ogles and supporting his Republican challenger, Charlie Hatcher, Tennessee’s former commissioner of agriculture, and recently bought another $700,000 worth of ads.
A “clean energy” PAC — funded almost entirely by one California billionaire — is dumping $2 million into a Republican primary in Tennessee. Not to elect a Democrat. To pick which Republican gets the nomination. If that doesn’t reek of corruption, your nose is broken.
A California billionaire goes shopping in Tennessee
The financier behind this operation is Chris Larsen, the California-based billionaire chairman of cryptocurrency firm Ripple. Larsen has funneled $6 million into the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC in 2026 alone. But his donation history reveals exactly who he is.
His largest single political contribution? Nearly $5.5 million to Future Forward PAC, backing Kamala Harris’s doomed presidential bid. Beyond that, he’s written checks totaling over $1 million to the Democratic Senatorial and Congressional Campaign Committees, another million-plus to the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, and more than $300,000 supporting Nancy Pelosi. This is not some well-meaning moderate who cares about wind turbines. This is a committed Democratic megadonor weaponizing clean energy rhetoric to meddle in Republican elections.
And here’s the kicker. The PAC’s chairman, Tom Matzzie, doubles as CEO of CleanChoice Energy — a solar company that directly profits from the government subsidies Ogles voted to eliminate. He’s spending millions to protect his own bottom line. The corruption is circular.
This already worked once
Matzzie was remarkably candid about his game plan. “Our campaign is here to show that politicians who oppose clean energy do so at their own political peril. Andy Ogles is next,” he told Axios.
That word — “next” — deserves attention. Because this strategy already has a casualty. According to Axios, ITC spent heavily to defeat Rep. Chip Roy in the Texas GOP primary runoff for attorney general. Roy lost. On the flip side, the PAC dropped $125,000 supporting Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa — who conveniently voted to preserve Biden-era green energy tax credits. Reward the compliant. Destroy the defiant. That’s the model.
“I will not be silent”
Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, isn’t folding. He framed the assault in terms every fiscal conservative understands.
“When you have a group spending roughly $2 million in a Republican primary, that tells you how much money they’re making off of government subsidies, and they’re upset that the government welfare has been taken away from them,” Ogles told Fox News Digital.
He also grounded it personally: “I’ve contemplated putting solar on my shop to help to run my farm. But I don’t want a government subsidy to make it work. I don’t need a government subsidy to pay for it.”
President Trump, who endorsed Ogles and held a tele-rally on his behalf, called him “one of the best congressmen that you’ll ever see.” That endorsement is precisely what painted the target. As Ogles put it bluntly: “It’s because I’m close to the president.”
The financial mismatch is brutal. ITC has outspent Ogles’ biggest ally, the House Freedom Fund, by a four-to-one margin. Ogles entered the final stretch with just $58,000 in cash-on-hand against a multi-million-dollar bombardment.
Tennessee voters head to the polls on August 6. They deserve to understand that the ads saturating their airwaves aren’t coming from concerned Republicans. They’re funded by the same California billionaire who tried to install Kamala Harris in the Oval Office. Follow the money. It always leads back to the same people.
Key Takeaways
- A Democratic mega-donor is spending millions to hand-pick Republican nominees in GOP primaries.
- The PAC’s top funder gave $5.5 million to elect Kamala Harris and bankrolls Pelosi and the DSCC.
- This strategy already succeeded — Rep. Chip Roy lost his Texas primary after similar outside spending.
- Trump-endorsed Rep. Andy Ogles is fighting back with a fraction of the resources.
