League of Conservation Voters

Political leanings: Pro-environment/liberal 2022 total spending: $58.6 million by its super PAC alone The League of Conservation Voters is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that works to “elect pro-environment, pro-democracy candidates up and down the ballot,” according to its website. The group was founded in 1969 by activist David Brower, executive director of the Sierra Club in the 1950s and ’60s and founder of Friends of the Earth. Its current president is Gene Karpinski, former executive director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Several well-known environmental organizations are represented on its board, such as Earthjustice and the Wilderness Society. The League of Conservation Voters tracks the voting records of members of Congress on environmental issues in its National Environmental Scorecard. The league’s super PAC, the LCV Victory Fund, names a “Dirty Dozen,” a list of politicians whom the group aims to defeat because of their voting records on conservation issues and their political vulnerability. It also names a state-level “Dirty Dozen.” The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, a traditional political action committee, and the LCV Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that does public outreach and education, are two of the league’s other affiliated organizations. The super PAC primarily spends money...