During the 2016 presidential election, the Koch network spent around $750 million, putting it almost on par with the amount spent by the Republican Party.
The Kochs ramped up their political efforts during the 2018 midterms, vowing to spend up to $400 million to support conservative candidates
The Koch brothers indicated that they intended to raise almost $880 million in support of candidates in the 2016 elections, and have given more than $100 million to conservative and libertarian policy and advocacy groups in the United States.
The Koch Brothers were credited with financially aiding the rise of the Tea Party movement, which wrested control of the House for Republicans in the 2010 midterms at the tail end of President Barack Obama's first term.
The Kochs backed the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization of conservative state lawmakers and business lobbyists. They've drafted "model legislation" that lawmakers have introduced to cut taxes, weaken environmental protections, and promote other conservative ideas. More than 600 of them have become law across the US.
Anthropogenic climate change skeptic Willie Soon received more than $500,000 from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and a trust used by the Kochs
In early 2018, political advocacy groups linked to the Koch family pledged to spend $400 million on the 2018 midterm elections
The primary recipients of Koch contributions, including Americans for Prosperity, The Heritage Foundation, and the Manhattan Institute, actively oppose clean energy and carbon legislation and are skeptical of climate science. In fact, the Koch brothers were involved in the first known gathering of climate change skeptics in 1991. Organized by the Cato Institute, the meeting shifted the position of the Republican Party on climate change. While George H. W. Bush had still supported research into global warming under the Global Change Research Act of 1990, acceptance of scientific evidence on climate change began to weaken due to the Koch family's influence.
Koch PAC Funding of Federal Political Campaigns
Koch PAC heavily favors Republicans: 99% of its contributions have gone to Republicans during the 2014 election cycle; 98% went to Republicans in the 2012 cycle. KochPAC also heavily favors Republican Party committees and leadership.
Koch Family and Individual Political Contributions
Charles Koch, his wife Elizabeth Koch, his son Chase Koch and David Koch and wife Julia Koch spent over $922,000 in individual political contributions from 2004-2010
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