James and Kathryn Murdoch Pour $30 Million Into Democrats, Building 2028 Media Influence
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Nov 15
James and Kathryn Murdoch Pour $30 Million Into Democrats, Building 2028 Media Influence
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Nov 15
Summary
More than $30 million in federally reported political contributions since 2020 has made James and Kathryn Murdoch a growing force behind moderate Democrats and the party’s 2028 bench.
Their influence extends beyond donations: through Lupa Systems and the Quadrivium Foundation, the couple bought New York magazine and Vox, worked closely with The Bulwark, and recently explored acquiring Crooked Media.
At Denver’s What’s Next summit, that strategy was visible in public. The Murdochs have put nearly $2 million into Majority Democrats and directly gave Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro $500,000 late last year.
The couple is described as backing a “radical centrist” project—changing election rules, recruiting pragmatic candidates and shaping the media conversation around figures such as Shapiro, Ruben Gallego, Elissa Slotkin, Jon Ossoff and Mark Kelly.
Their foundation has also disbursed more than $111 million to climate, voting and other nonprofit groups from 2020 through 2024, underscoring a broader effort to steer Democratic politics and public debate left of center.