Minnesota Republican PAC accused of misleading rich donors, misusing their money

A conservative political action committee in Minnesota funded by some of the state's richest residents is accused of misleading its donors and misusing their money.

Right Now Minnesota, a state PAC established in 2017 to purportedly help elect Republicans, reported spending zero dollars on behalf of candidates last year. Instead, the PAC claims to have spent almost all the money it took in on "internet access and web hosting," according to its campaign finance reports.

The PAC paid $319,000 of its roughly $346,000 in total spending for the year to an unknown and largely untraceable business called 1854 Inc. for the internet and web services. Such services are typically inexpensive; a GOP state Senate candidate reported paying about $600 for internet access and web hosting last year, and the Minnesota DFL reported paying roughly $30-140 a month for webhosting.

Michael Brodkorb, a former deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, said the PAC's spending doesn't pass the "smell test."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were a number of donors who would be shocked to know how their money is being spent," Brodkorb said. "It's clear that additional scrutiny is needed for this group for them to justify and explain some of their questionable expenditures."

A review of Right Now Minnesota's campaign finance reports dating back to 2017 shows the PAC has consistently paid most of its money to 1854 Inc. for vaguely described services.

1854 Inc. has no website or online presence. Its business filing with the Minnesota Secretary of State's office lists two P.O. boxes, in Golden Valley and Wayzata.

Wealthy Minnesotans such as Stanley Hubbard, the billionaire who founded Hubbard Broadcasting; Mark Davis, the former CEO of Davisco Foods; and Tom Rosen, CEO of Rosen's Diversified Inc., have donated to Right Now Minnesota.

Davis gave $120,000 to the PAC last year. In an interview with the Star Tribune, Davis said he was told his money would be used to support conservative candidates and was shocked to hear it may have been spent on web services or other things.

"There was never any mention of, 'that's what the money was going for,'" Davis said. "It just doesn't make any sense."

Almost all Minnesota political committees report spending a majority of their funding on independent expenditures, which go directly toward supporting or defeating a candidate. Right Now Minnesota is an outlier, using all of its funds in 2022 for "other disbursements," according to a Star Tribune analysis of campaign finance data.

Democratic groups vastly outspend Republican-aligned PACs in Minnesota races, leaving some conservative operatives in the state scrambling to try to coordinate their spending with more limited resources. After the 2022 election, Minnesota Republicans found themselves cast out of every statewide office and narrowly out of power in the Legislature. In competitive swing districts, an infusion of spending can tip the scales.

"Close to $350,000 could have kept Republicans with control of the Senate and possibly could have gotten to an opportunity where Republicans picked up the House. You're talking about an entire different political landscape today," Brodkorb said.

"Entities like this, not only are they not helping Republicans," he added, "they're actually being helpful to the Democrats by raising money, taking it out of the Republican ecosystem and having it spent by what accounts to be political charlatans."

Who's running the PAC?

Right Now Minnesota's registration with the state Campaign Finance Board lists Elliott Olson of North Hudson, Wis., as its chair and treasurer. Olson is also the main contact for Right Now Minnesota's federally connected super PAC, Right Now USA, which similarly paid a lot of money to 1854 Inc. last year.

Right Now USA spent about $123,000 last cycle, with nearly half going to 1854 Inc. for "professional services/technology consulting," according to its federal campaign finance report.

Unlike the state PAC, the federal Right Now USA did spend some money on behalf of Minnesota candidates last year, paying 1854 Inc. about $60,000 to place ads in support of Republican congressional candidates and a third-party Legal Marijuana Now candidate who could have spoiled a key race for Democrats.

But that Legal Marijuana Now candidate, Paula Overby,died weeks before the election. Right Now USA's ad urged people to vote for her anyway, "in loving memory." In an interview with KARE-11 at the time, a former Republican operative called the ad "a new low in Minnesota politics."

Reached by phone Thursday, Olson said, "I'm not going to go into our tactics."

Olson described 1854 Inc. as a vendor that places ads for Right Now Minnesota and Right Now USA.

When questioned about the PAC's payments to 1854 Inc. for "internet access and web hosting," Olson said Right Now Minnesota does "more than just web hosting," but "I don't want to tell you." He said he's trying to use his PAC to "educate the voters."

Right Now Minnesota and Right Now USA operate largely on their own websites and Facebook pages, which recycle conservative news stories and political memes. Right Now Minnesota has been scrutinized in the past for spreading disinformation about COVID-19 and Democratic candidates. Facebook removed the majority of ads the PAC paid to post for violating the website's standards.

Over the past five years, the state PAC has spent about $95,000 on Facebook ads, most of which included political memes and a link to Right Now Minnesota's website rather than advocacy for or against specific candidates, according to a Facebook ad library report.

Google's Ads Transparency Center shows Right Now Minnesota paid for two Google ads against DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison last year that urged Minnesotans to "vote him out!" State campaign finance laws require ads that explicitly encourage the election or defeat of a candidate to be disclosed, but Right Now Minnesota did not report the Google ads.

"I'm also doing the books," Olson said. "If the books are sloppy, I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can."

Asked if he tells the PAC's donors what all he spends their money on, Olson said "no."

"We don't want the competition to know what we're doing," he said. "We have a secret sauce and we don't want to give it to them."

Olson isn't the only person linked to the PAC.

Davis identified businessman Richard Andolshek as an associate with Right Now Minnesota who he said solicited his donation under the pledge of backing conservative candidates.

Andolshek is CEO of the Minneapolis-based digital advertising company Brick, Inc. He isn't listed on any of the state PAC's public campaign finance filings.

However, Andolshek and his son Albin were both included on an email chain about amending Right Now USA's federal campaign finance forms. Albin Andolshek also appears to be connected to 1854 Inc., as he was listed as the contact for the business on a KSTP-TV advertisement purchase order for Right Now USA in 2020.

When contacted by the Star Tribune, Richard Andolshek said he was in a meeting and immediately hung up. He did not return follow-up calls seeking comment. Albin Andolshek did not respond to a request for comment either.

Olson said Richard Andolshek has "no authority" in the PAC, instead saying he runs it himself.

Word-of-mouth donations

Some major donors to Right Now Minnesota told the Star Tribune they didn't know much about the group.

Davis said he was introduced to Andolshek and Right Now Minnesota through his friend, Tom Rosen. Rosen, who donated $150,000 to Right Now Minnesota last year, did not respond to requests for comment.

Billionaire Stanley Hubbard donated to Right Now Minnesota and Right Now USA in 2018-2020, but his assistant said he donates to so many causes that he didn't remember the details and told her: "Somebody must have told me this was a good idea."

Another donor, Jeannine Rivet of Minnetrista, gave Right Now Minnesota $10,000 one day after the 2022 midterm election. Rivet said someone she trusted recommended she give money to the group, but she wouldn't say who.

"We haven't done anything since," said Rivet. "We're involved in so many things, both not-for-profit and philanthropy and politics. I try to minimize how much we are personally connected to those."

DFL state Sen. Jim Carlson, chair of the Senate Elections Committee, said he's had concerns for years about PACs that potentially mislead donors, which are more common at the federal level. He added that he's committed to looking at ways to "prevent predatory and dishonest practices by PACs."

"Minnesotans deserve to have their hard-earned donations used honestly and without having to worry that they are being funneled for suspect and untraceable purposes," Carlson said.