Family Research Council Launches New PAC to Help Pro-Life Candidates
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 15, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The Family Research Council, one of the top pro-life groups in the nation, is expanding its efforts with the launch of a new political action committee. The group helps FRC reach out to support pro-life candidates and to help pro-life voters identify which candidates are pro-life and worthy of backing.
The PAC hopes to raise a modest $250,000 between now and November to aid candidates but, more importantly, the goal is to endorse pro-life candidates and turn out pro-life voters on their behalf.
"This is the beginning. This is going to give us an additional tool in our toolbox, if you will, to advance the issues that we care about,” says FRC president Tony Perkins.
Perkins said the PAC is “not looking in this election cycle to make a huge impact monetarily" but will help promote candidates who are pro-life on abortion, bioethics issues like stem cell research, and will support good judicial picks.
The political action committee is a part of FRC Action, the organization’s 501(c)4 lobbying arm that can support or oppose legislation but not candidates.
The new PAC held its first fundraising event on Saturday night at the Values Voters Summit FRC sponsored this weekend.
It has already released a list of 134 Congressional candidates it is supporting and most of the candidates are incumbents and most are Republicans because so few Democrats in Congress or running as challengers are pro-life. Mike McIntyre and Heath Shuler, two House members from North Carolina, are exceptions.
Perkins said the PAC intends to make independent expenditures in a handful of races where it thinks it can make the biggest difference. But, eventually, it wants to grow and expand to recruit candidates and train volunteers.
“Eventually we hope to grow the PAC to be able to concentrate efforts not only to support existing candidates but also recruiting, training and equipping pro-family candidates,” Perkins said.
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