Lawrence Lessig has advocated electoral reform for many years,[12] and conceived the idea of a crowdfunded Super PAC as a way to achieve such reform. Mayday PAC began in May 2014,[1] but before officially launching the fund raising effort, Lessig led 200 people on a walk from Dixville Notch to Nashua in New Hampshire, stopping at coffee shops and small events to talk with people about money in politics, to generate media attention; further walks are planned.[6] He explained, "Yes, we want to spend big money to end the influence of big money... Ironic, I get it. But embrace the irony."[13]
The fund-raising plan was a variation on traditional crowd funding approaches in that specified fund-raising targets must be met by certain dates.[14] Lessig explained that the immediate goal is to raise enough money to sway five elections to Congress.[15] He said, "We've structured this as a series of matched-contingent goals. We've got to raise $1 million in 30 days; if we do, we'll get that $1 million matched. Then we've got to raise $5 million in 30 days; if we do, we'll get that $5 million matched as well. If both challenges are successful, then we'll have the money we need to compete in 5 races in 2014. Based on those results, we’ll launch a (much much) bigger effort in 2016—big enough to win."[14]
On July 28, 2014, the PAC began a $12-million advertising campaign for the 2014 midterm elections. The plan was to spend the funds electing members of congress who are committed to getting money out of politics, regardless of their party affiliation. $4 million of this money was to be spent in Senate races in Iowa and New Hampshire.[16]
Targeted races in 2014
The Mayday PAC spent significant money helping the campaign of each of these candidates in 2014.[17] Each candidate was viewed by Mayday PAC as a supporter of campaign finance reform.
