The treasurer for The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, part of the “Lincoln Project of Tennessee” announced on Wednesday, recently made two $1,000 donations to the presidential campaign of Nikki Haley.
Federal Elections Commission (FEC) records indicate James Seabury III is the treasurer for The Best of Tennessee’s super PAC, which it calls the Action Fund.
The FEC record of Seabury’s political donor history reveals he made $2,000 in donations to Nikki Haley for President Inc. on October 10, 2023.
Haley, the former Ambassador to the United Nations who courted Democrats in her ill-fated primary campaign against former President Donald Trump, claimed her campaign was not anti-Trump, but pundits described her candidacy as a “placeholder” for anti-Trump Republicans.
The treasurer for The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, part of the “Lincoln Project of Tennessee” announced on Wednesday, recently made two $1,000 donations to the presidential campaign of Nikki Haley.
Federal Elections Commission (FEC) records indicate James Seabury III is the treasurer for The Best of Tennessee’s super PAC, which it calls the Action Fund.
The FEC record of Seabury’s political donor history reveals he made $2,000 in donations to Nikki Haley for President Inc. on October 10, 2023.
Haley, the former Ambassador to the United Nations who courted Democrats in her ill-fated primary campaign against former President Donald Trump, claimed her campaign was not anti-Trump, but pundits described her candidacy as a “placeholder” for anti-Trump Republicans.
Seabury and The Best of Tennessee likewise did not respond to inquiries from The Star about Seabury’s donations of $3,300 to the Ron DeSantis for President committee, $8,300 to the Team DeSantis 2024 political action committee and $5,000 to the pro-DeSantis Great American Comeback political action committee.
In total, Seabury donated at least $16,600 to DeSantis or groups that boosted his candidacy.
Neither Seabury nor the organization provided explanations to The Star regarding the motivation behind Seabury’s donations to DeSantis, who led the charge on conservative culture war issues from Florida but whose candidacy was nonetheless advertised to donors as the one most likely to stop Trump from securing the Republican nomination.
Seabury notably donated the money to DeSantis and groups supporting him after German-owned Politico reported in August 2023 that the Florida governor’s “conservative populism has left some donors chafing.”
Super PACs like The Best of Tennessee Action Fund can receive large donations from out-of-state millionaires and billionaires. The donations may additionally be in excess of $1 million but must be reported to the FEC.
The Best of Tennessee is the joint project of pro-abortion Knoxville lawyer and Democratic voter Chloe Akers and seasoned political fundraiser Kim Kaegi, who raises money for both Republican and Democratic candidates. Their goal is reportedly to “elevate moderate voices” in Tennessee politics, according to Akers.
While Akers now claims The Best of Tennessee will focus on moderate candidates, she previously admitted to Axios she was inspired to start the organization after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Akers also noted she considered it vital to find Republicans to be part of Best of Tennessee but found many “couldn’t believe this wasn’t some Trojan horse designed to just, like, destroy the Republican Party.”
While The Best of Tennessee does not currently seem to have a direct connection to the Lincoln Project, its founder’s description of the group’s goals is similar to that of the national group.
The Lincoln Project at its 2019 founding claimed its work “transcends partisanship and is dedicated to nothing less than preservation of the principles that so many have fought for,” but today declares in its mission statement, “We’re here to stop Trump, break MAGA, and save America.”
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
Photo “James Seabury” by Enterprise Solutions.
