Climate Activist Money Meddles in GOP Primaries, Using MAGA Messaging
21st August 2026
Republican voters who see ads attacking South Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Ralph Norman as insufficiently MAGA might be surprised to learn about the major donor behind those messages.
“Ralph Norman: MAGA Traitor,” reads one ad from the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC. “Ralph Norman betrayed President [Donald] Trump by endorsing against him in 2024. … Ralph Norman is a MAGA traitor.”
So, what is the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC?
According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC received more than 88% of its funding—$6 million out of $6.78 million—from one man, Chris Larsen.
So, is Larsen a Trump donor? Far from it. He contributed $1 million worth of cryptocurrency to Future Forward, a PAC supporting then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in 2024. In May, he told Politico he was “a big believer in Gavin” Newsom for the 2028 Democrat presidential primary, and he plans to boost California’s Democrat governor “any way we can.”
Larsen in May called the PAC’s advocacy “political warfare,” according to Politico. “The worst that you want in a political fight is for your opponents to think you’re weak,” he said.
He is not the only green energy advocate backing the PAC. Mark McCall, who led the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office under President Barack Obama, contributed $200,000. Jigar Shah, who directed the same office under President Joe Biden, contributed $50,000. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, co-founded the PAC.