Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., leaves the Senate Democratic policy luncheon in the Capitol on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
A political action committee for Fox News’ parent company donated money to moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s reelection campaign, a new filing shows.
The Fox Corp. PAC, which is funded in part by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, gave $1,500 to Manchin’s 2024 reelection campaign in June, according to a disclosure to the Federal Election Commission. The campaign raised just over $1.4 million in the second quarter.
It would mark the first time Manchin has received a donation from the Fox Corp. PAC, according to a CNBC review of FEC records and data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
The disclosure comes as Manchin, who represents the deep-red state of West Virginia, faces pressure from conservative voices on Fox News and elsewhere to obstruct and limit President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders’ ambitious and expensive agenda.
Manchin is a pivotal vote in the Senate, where Democrats have a thin majority by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote. The donation from Fox Corp. came the same month that Manchin wrote an op-ed to describe his opposition to eliminating the filibuster and to the Democrats’ For the People Act voting rights bill.
Manchin has been under siege by outside groups, including those linked to billionaire Charles Koch, to oppose key elements of his party’s agenda.
In the second quarter, Manchin also received contributions from many other big corporations, including Pfizer, T-Mobile, Nucor, Honeywell and Herbalife.
A Fox Corp. spokesperson and representatives for Manchin didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
CRP data shows that during the 2020 election cycle, Murdoch, the chairman of the company, donated $10,000 to the Fox Corp. PAC. Lachlan Murdoch, his son and the CEO of Fox Corp., gave just over $2,000 to the committee.
During the previous election, the PAC gave more than $180,000 to candidates, splitting the sum almost evenly between Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Democrats who received donations from the Fox Corp. PAC last cycle include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Mark Warner of Virginia.
