Last election cycle this passed beneath Crabgrass radar, but tardy coverage is better than none at all:
websearch - The Rockbridge Network
Readers can take it from there, but as background, NYTimes, from two years ago when it was news back then:
The coalition, called the Rockbridge Network, includes some of Mr. Trump’s biggest donors, such as Peter Thiel and Rebekah Mercer, and has laid out an ambitious goal — to reshape the American right by spending more than $30 million on conservative media, legal, policy and voter registration projects, among other initiatives.
The emergence of Rockbridge, the existence of which has not previously been reported, comes amid escalating jockeying among conservative megadonors to shape the 2022 midterms and the future of the Republican Party from outside the formal party machinery, and often with little disclosure.
In February, another previously unreported coalition of donors, the Chestnut Street Council, organized by the Trump-allied lobbyist Matt Schlapp, held a meeting to hear a pitch for new models for funding the conservative movement.
If those upstart coalitions gain momentum, they will likely have to vie for influence among conservatives with existing donor networks that have been skeptical of or agnostic toward Mr. Trump.
One that was created by the billionaire industrialists Charles G. and David H. Koch spent more than $250 million in 2020. Another, spearheaded by the New York hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, hosted top Republican politicians in February.
The surge in secretive fund-raising does not end there — a number of nonprofit groups with varying degrees of allegiance to Mr. Trump are also vying to become leading distributors of donor funds to the right.
Taken together, the jockeying highlights frustration on the right with the political infrastructure that surrounds the Republican Party, and, in some cases, with its politicians, as well as disagreements about its direction as Mr. Trump teases another presidential run.
Some may read it differently, but that seems a long and indirect way to introduce slush funding to buy influence. However, clearly, opinions and circumstantial inferences can differ. If such stuff went on for an off year election, an absence of these or newly named and created groups with similar goals in 2024 seems unlikely.
We may need somebody to publish the 2024 "scorecard" of who is on which slush fund, but expect it to be published before primary elections next year.
____________UPDATE___________
In noting the above info on private dark money political funding, it is fair to note that SBF's spending on behalf of seeking influence favorable to FTX and allied crypto endeavors focused mainly - on his publicly open funding - on the Democratic Party, while allegations were he worked both sides of the street, with Republican funding being more covert.
That was while Minnesota's CD6 Rep. Tom Emmer, a crypto booster, headed NRCC fundraising (Emmer, ultra-secure in his district and now House GOP whip, reportedly raised record amounts this past quarter on his own behalf, contributing half-a-million of such funds to NRCC, which others now lead).
Whether crypto contributions will be a factor at all for 2024 elections seems uncertain, now, after the FTX implosion and with Binance facing scrutiny.
So, both sides, Dem and GOP, raise funds against the other, with outside donors holding ever-stronger influence that way.
It was curiosity over the donor aspects of Robert Mercer and daughter Rebekah Mercer, now and in light of the past, which led to searching, and via searching, the originally headlined news link was returned because Ms Mercer was mentioned. The wondering about the Mercers was, as in what are they up to these days? A kind of morbid curiosity. Back in 2016 they did a tight influence and support segue from Cruz to Trump when the two candidates' fortunes suggested that move as wiser than standing pat.
Also uncovered among search returns is this, about the Mercer daughter's status and influence at Heritage. With Heritage adamantly favoring school privatization and the undermining of pubic schools, it is strongly on my "other list." For that and other reasons Heritage made the "other list," but public education under Heritage attack rings strongest. Public education helped me growing up, I respect it, it seems necessary for the nation to stay strong and for democracy to prosper, and I view any effort to gut it as a class war of the wealthy against US.
May Betsy DeVos have an epiphany on the way to Damascus and get religion towards public education being holy in its best aspects, while not beyond criticism over some detail.
Ms. Mercer, given her Heritage status, had to have been in the audience at the 50th Anniversary of the organization, and heard the keynote address; and has to be aware of the surprisingly vigorous vote of confidence given Tucker Carlson by Heritage leadership.
It would be nice to know her and "dad's" feeling about Carlson, FOX, and the Murdoch empire and family, given the Heritage blessing of Carlson despite recent events and mainstream media efforts.
Of interest - Out of curiosity as to how money interests tie together, that alone, would be cause to want to know. Dark money is called that because of the will of money suppliers to keep things private, so we will not likely learn of Mercer feelings toward Carlson and how that might help or hinder his future prospects.
It would be helpful to know the detail weaving of the tapestry. A tapestry we can only view from afar, with no light shining on it directly.