Biden Raked in More Than $170 Million in Dark Money in 2020 Election, Almost 7 Times More than Trump: Report

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President Joe Biden and other members of the Democratic Party were the top beneficiaries of the record amount of “dark money” spent on the 2020 elections, according to a report by Open Secrets.

More than $1 billion in so-called dark money was spent on federal elections in 2020, according to the group’s final tally, an all-time record. Dark money is defined as spending from groups that are not required to disclose their donors.

Notably, it was the first time in history the spending benefitted Democrats in a presidential race more than Republicans. About $174 million went to supporting Biden’s campaign, while former President Donald Trump benefited from about a seventh of that, or $25.2 million.

The greatest amount was spent by One Nation, a group aligned with Senate Republican leadership. That organization spent $125 million. The next four top spenders aligned with left-wing causes. Those were, respectively, Sixteen Thirty Fund; Future Forward USA Action; America Votes; and Duty & Honor. The four groups accounted for a little more than $210 million spent on behalf of Democrats.

Democrats won the race for dark money for the very first time in 2018, after Trump became the uncontested face of the Republican Party. That development came after top progressives spent years lamenting the cash, and even as House Democrats have continued pushing to end it with H.R. 1. The 800-page proposal, or the For the People Act, would require groups that spend more than $10,000 to disclose any donors contributing more than that figure.

Republicans have maintained their opposition to proposal, with Trump calling it a “flagrantly unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment” in a speech last month.