Coalition for Progress, a super PAC aligned with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, raised a whopping $776,000 during the last six months of 2023 and now has almost $7.3 million in the bank.
Fulop, the three-term mayor of Jersey City, raised $3 million in his first five months as a candidate for governor, enough money to qualify for a full match under the state’s public financing law. New Jersey offers $2 for every $1 raised, which means Fulop’s campaign will have more than $7.3 million to spend; the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission has not yet set the details of the 2025 match.
But Coalition for Progress, as an independent expenditure group, can amplify what Fulop spends to win the Democratic primary.
“We look forward to supporting Democratic candidates who share a pro-growth vision for progress, and this is just the beginning of our efforts to invest in the future of New Jersey,” said Drew Nussbaum, the super PAC chairman.
The super PAC raised $414,921 during the first half of the year and reported spending $128,667, some of it to boost Craig Guy in his successful bid for the Democratic nomination for Hudson County Executive last spring.
The super PAC was formed in 2015, in advance of Fulop’s expected bid for the 2017 Democratic nomination for governor. The group has raised $8.9 million since then.
Last year, Coalition for Progress hired a number of consultants to help them, including Red Horse Strategies, which worked on independent expenditures for Democratic candidates in more than 30 states, and Impact Research, the polling firm led by John Anzalone; Anzalone polled for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and has extensive experience in New Jersey races.
The Coalition for Progress consultant roster will also include Siegel Strategies, a media firm, and Precision Strategies, a digital media company that worked for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign and statewide and congressional candidates across the U.S.
Fulop and former Senate President Steve Sweeney are the only announced gubernatorial candidates so far.