Democrat consulting firm encouraged pro-Trump candidates to run on 3rd party tickets in swing districts: report

According to the National Pulse, the group of organizations is known under the name "Patriots Run Project," which is tied to firms such as Nevada-based Sole Strategies, Common Sense America, as well as Patinkin Research, each associated with the Democratic Party or Democrat campaigns. The website for the "project " states, "We need patriots to run and win elections. We need to break the uniparty."

The "Patriots Run Project" has successfully launched elderly as well as disabled Trump supporters as third-party candidates in several congressional races in multiple states, such as Iowa and Virginia. The elderly candidates have been recruited almost entirely by social media. This could damage Republicans in these races if a sizeable chunk of pro-Trump Republicans go with the more conservative candidates and split the vote.

In the site's instructions on how to run for a campaign, it specifies that the candidate should "run as an independent or with a patriotic conservative party" that does not include Republicans or Democrats in the "uniparty."

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Thomas Bowman, who is running as a third-party candidate, was recruited on Facebook by the secretive group. According to the outlet, Bowman was contacted by the group who asked him about his views.

Bowman said that the group liked what he was saying: “Then they suggested those are good viewpoints and did I ever consider running for office,” Bowman said of the seemingly grassroots organization. “I thought about it and it seemed like a good idea.”

When he was informed that his candidacy as a third-party would “spoil” the race for Republicans, he expressed regret: “I didn’t intend for this to spoil anything or ruin anybody else’s opportunities for election,” Bowman said of the situation. “If it does, I’m not going to cower or run away. I might be wasting my time, too.”

The Democrat-backed organization provides paid signature-gathering staff for those who are recruited to run for Congress. In addition to this, operatives that may have used false names would drive the elderly people to election offices in order to have them sign up with the paperwork. In one example, the person who took a prospective candidate to an office attempted to dodge security cameras that were present in the office building.

The organization had reportedly told Bowman that gathering signatures would be easy for him to do. Since registering as a third-party candidate, he has not gathered that much attention from the general public and has not been able to raise any money.

Included in the list of clients for Sole Strategies is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as Representative Pat Ryan (D-NY). Along with this, the Democrat-aligned Latino group "Mi Familia Vota" has also paired up with the left-wing consulting company.