Seth London's Dark Money Network Majority Democrats and the Bench Raise $8M
Venture capitalist Seth London has built a sophisticated dark-money network, Majority Democrats and the Bench, that raised $8 million this year from billionaires like Stephen Mandel and Tench Coxe. The operation uses a nesting doll of PACs, nonprofits, and LLCs to elect moderate Democrats, inspired by the party's neoliberal turn after 2024. A related Delaware nonprofit, Contours Inc., funneled $2.9 million to Government That Works PAC, which spent $3.75 million backing Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. The network is advised by Lis Smith and Matt Corridoni, and includes politicians like Jake Auchincloss and Elissa Slotkin.
Key facts
- Majority Democrats and the Bench raised $8 million in 2026.
- Top donors include Stephen Mandel, Tench Coxe, Bill Helman, Reed Hastings, Michael Novogratz, and Reid Hoffman.
- The network was created by venture capitalist Seth London after the 2024 election.
- Majority Democrats launched in July 2025, led by Rohan Patel and chaired by Jake Auchincloss.
- Contours Inc., a Delaware nonprofit, sent $2.9 million to Government That Works PAC.
- Government That Works PAC spent $3.75 million on Lone Star Rising PAC backing James Talarico.
- The network exploits campaign finance laws to elect moderate Democrats.
- Advisers include Lis Smith and Matt Corridoni.
Entities
Institutions
- Majority Democrats
- The Bench
- The Lever
- CBS News
- Niskanen Center
- Arnold Ventures
- Open Philanthropy
- Emergent Ventures
- Koch Brothers network
- American Enterprise Institute
- Revolving Door Institute
- New York Times
- Boston Globe
- Sludge
- Contours Inc.
- Government That Works PAC
- Arabella Advisors
- Sunflower Services
- Sixteen Thirty Fund
- Lone Star Rising PAC
- Searchlight Institute
- Abundance Movement
- Jacobin
- Nvidia
- Netflix
- Tesla
- Democratic Party
- GOP
- IRS
Locations
- Delaware
- United States
- Texas
- Massachusetts
- New York City
- Washington DC
- Silicon Valley
- Wall Street