Shortly after being reached in December by the Washington Examiner, the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association transferred roughly half a million dollars donated by Google, Archer Daniels Midland, Pfizer, r4 Technologies, and McKinsey & Company — all federal contractors in some capacity — from its federal account to its nonfederal account, a recent campaign finance filing shows.
The Washington Examiner reported in December 2025 that the DLGA had accepted multiple donations from corporate federal contractors through its federal PAC, an arrangement that could run afoul of campaign finance regulations that prevent federal contractors from making political donations related to federal elections.
A spokesperson for r4 Technologies, an artificial intelligence vendor, previously told the Washington Examiner that the DLGA erroneously placed the firm’s contribution into its federal account despite the fact that the “contribution was made specifically for local/state outreach.”
While one might assume that the DLGA, given its name, only spends on state-level elections, campaign finance records paint a different picture. Over the years, the PAC has made large-dollar donations to political committees that spend on federal elections, such as Save Democracy PAC, Defending Democracy, and the Democratic Leadership Project PAC, as well as multiple congressional campaigns.
More recently, the DLGA has spent well over $1 million helping former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way in her federal campaign to win a vacant House of Representatives seat.
This type of federal spending poses a problem for the DLGA if it is accepting donations from federal contractors.
Federal law states that it is “unlawful for a Federal contractor” to “make, either directly or indirectly, any contribution or expenditure of money or other thing of value … to any political party, committee, or candidate for Federal office or to any person for any political purpose or use.”
Per its 2025 end-of-year campaign finance filing, the DLGA moved the funds within days of the Washington Examiner contacting it for its initial story.
The Washington Examiner first reached out to the DLGA on Dec. 15, 2025. Though the DLGA acknowledged receipt of the inquiry, it ultimately did not respond. What it did do, however, was begin moving money around.
On Dec. 17, the committee moved $25,000 from r4 Technologies out of its federal account and into its nonfederal account. Days later, on Dec. 19, it shuffled $150,000 from McKinsey & Company and Archer Daniels Midland around in the same way. Then, on Dec. 23, the DLGA pushed $145,000 from Google out of its federal committee and into its state-level account, and, finally, on Dec. 30, it moved $205,000 donated by Pfizer in the same way.
MILLIONS IN POSSIBLY ILLEGAL CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE FLOODED POLITICS THIS YEAR
After these transfers, Democrats now have approximately half a million dollars less to spend on federal elections than they did prior.
The DLGA did not respond to a request for comment.