Dark-Money Denise Powell Paid Thousands by Liberal Dark-Money Groups
Dark-Money Denise Powell “made tens of thousands of dollars working as a consultant for left-wing dark money groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund.”
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, that paid Dark-Money Denise, has been dubbed the “left’s preeminent dark money hub.”
“Dark-money Denise Powell is a shady political operative that benefits from the same dark money she purports to be against. Denise Powell can’t be trusted.” – NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon
Read more from The Washington Free Beacon here or see excerpts below:
Nebraska House Candidate Who Worked for Democrats’ Preeminent Dark Money Hub’ Now Campaigns on Getting ‘Dark Money out of Politics’
The Washington Free Beacon
Chuck Ross
June 2, 2026
Nebraska Democrat Denise Powell made tens of thousands of dollars working as a consultant for left-wing dark money groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund. Now, as a candidate for the state’s Second Congressional District—and as some of her clients fend off a lawsuit from Nebraska’s attorney general—she’s campaigning on a pledge to “get dark money out of politics once and for all.”
Powell, who won the Democratic primary for the Omaha-based seat in mid-May, worked as a consultant for the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the New Venture Fund, the Nebraska Donor Alliance, Western Futures Fund, and the Second House Collaborative, according to her financial disclosures. All of the groups paid her at least $5,000—and all are awash in “dark money,” a term used to describe donations from undisclosed donors that are used to influence politics.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, which Politico dubbed the “left’s preeminent dark money hub,” gave $311 million in 2024 to hundreds of progressive organizations that work on abortion issues, climate change, and voting issues. The New Venture Fund, which was a longtime “sister” organization to the Sixteen Thirty Fund when it operated under the left-wing consulting firm Arabella Advisors, received $628 million in 2024, mostly from anonymous donors, and awarded $429 million in grants to hundreds of climate, civic, and “social action” groups. Nebraska attorney general Mike Hilgers (R.) sued the two groups in November, alleging that they illegally supported left-wing ballot initiatives in the state with “foreign money” from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss. A district court judge denied a motion to dismiss the suit in April.
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It’s unclear exactly how much money Powell personally made from groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund. Her financial disclosure states that she earned nearly $160,000 from her consulting firm in 2024, but federal ethics rules only require Powell to list entities that paid her more than $5,000 rather than disclosing the specific amounts. That means she’s made at least $25,000 from the five “dark money” entities.
Powell has continued to benefit from at least one of those groups as a candidate. Fight for Nebraska PAC spent $1.2 million on ads supporting Powell in her primary against Cavanaugh, which she won by just 1,080 votes. The group is funded by Western Futures Fund, the same dark-money advocacy group for which Powell has worked for in the past, and The Bench, a PAC whose top donors are billionaire businessmen Stephen Mandel and Mark Heising, according to Nebraska Public Media.
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