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Defending Democracy Together has spent $11.5 million on independent expenditures opposing Trump or backing Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit and thus not required to disclose its donors, it’s the top spending “dark money” group of the 2020 election cycle so far. Through its project Republican Voters Against Trump, the nonprofit runs an onslaught of unconventional ads featuring Republicans who plan to vote against Trump in November. In addition to paying for TV ads and billboards in swing states, Defending Democracy Together has spent nearly $5.2 million on online ads aiming to spur Republicans to vote for Biden. It also has a Republican Voters Against Trump super PAC that has spent $4.2 million to influence the presidential race. The PAC ads feature opinions from Republicans who say they regret voting for Trump in 2016. It also ran a Spanish-language ad comparing Trump to foreign dictators. That group is expected to reveal its donors before Election Day, but like other super PACs it could dodge true disclosure by reporting its allied nonprofit as its only donor. . .One of the group’s most prominent ads puts the spotlight on Olivia Troye, who advised Vice President Mike Pence on homeland security, counterterrorism and the coronavirus pandemic. Troye left the Trump administration in August. One month later, she endorsed Biden for president and attacked Trump over his handling of the pandemic. . .Republican Voters Against Trump recruited several former Trump administration officials to publicly endorse Biden. Miles Taylor, former chief of staff of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, publicly rebuked Trump in a recent ad. Elizabeth Neumann, another former high-ranking DHS official, appeared in another ad in late August and said Trump “absolutely failed” to protect Americans from COVID-19. . .According to Form 990 filings showing grants distributed by other nonprofits, Defending Democracy Together received $1.6 million from Democracy Fund Voice, a nonprofit funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. It also received $75,000 from the Hopewell Fund, a nonprofit with ties to the top dark money donor of the 2020 election cycle, the liberal Sixteen Thirty Fund. Still, the vast majority of its funding comes from sources unknown to the public. Defending Democracy Together has partnered with The Lincoln Project to turn Republican voters against Trump. As part of their initiative Operation Grant, the two groups are aiming to mobilize anti-Trump Republicans in swing states such as Ohio. : Never-Trump group is 2020’s top ‘dark money’ spender so far