A shadowy super PAC poured nearly $500,000 into ads attacking Rep. Blake Moore in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, bankrolled almost entirely by Club for Growth’s super PAC and a dark-money group, and still failed to take down the three-term congressman.
According to Federal Election Commission filings, the Defending Conservative Values PAC spent about $485,000 on digital and other ads against Moore in his GOP primary against state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee.
Those ads attacked Moore for not living within the 2nd District, dubbing him “Salt Lake Blake.” Moore lives in Salt Lake City, which is not part of the newly drawn district, which covers northern Utah.
Most of that cash came from Club for Growth Action, Club for Growth’s super PAC, which kicked in $300,000. Another $190,000 flowed from American Advancement Inc., a dark-money 501(c)(4) nonprofit that is not required to disclose its donors.
Club for Growth previously spent $2.5 million in Utah defending Sen. Mike Lee during his 2022 re-election bid.
American Advancement reported more than $2.8 million to conservative outside groups in 2024 and more than $3.9 million during the 2022 cycle.
Almost every dollar the Defending Conservative Values PAC spent went through a shell company, Conservative Action Group, which was incorporated earlier this year in Wyoming. That state does not require businesses to disclose information about owners. The firm lists a virtual office in Casper on its paperwork. The PAC also paid it $5,000 for consulting work.
An FEC filing last month, though, listed a street address for the company in Alpine, Utah—the home of Dan Hauser, a longtime political ally of Sen. Mike Lee.
Hauser claimed his home address ended up on the filing due to a clerical error, but he would not deny any involvement with the PAC or the shell company.
The digital ad blitz didn’t make much of an impact with voters. Moore cruised to an easy 13-point win over Lisonbee, winning every county in the district except for Box Elder County, where Lisonbee was ahead by just 32 votes as of Monday afternoon.
Looking to November, Moore is a heavy favorite to win a fourth term in the R+15 district, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. He faces Democrat Peter Crosby, Libertarian Daniel Cottam and Independent American Party nominee Carlton Bowen.
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