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ABC (NEW YORK) — After lackluster finishes in the first two presidential contests, Sen. Elizabeth Warren will get a last-minute boost of support ahead of the Nevada caucuses from a new super PAC called “Persist,” which is scheduled to air nearly $800,000 in ads in support of the presidential hopeful who has grounded her campaign in rooting out the influence of money in politics.
The PAC is led by a group of progressive women, including Constitutional Accountability Center’s policy director Kristine Kippins, DC-based Democratic strategist Karin Johanson and Kim Rogers, the former political director of Heartland, a PAC started by former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack aimed at electing Democratic governors.
Filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday afternoon, the new PAC released an ad that night, and just hours counting down until the Nevada debate – and the caucuses beyond.
As of Wednesday morning, the PAC had at least $795,000 worth of air time in Las Vegas and Reno from Wednesday through Saturday this week, according to ad analysis firm CMAG/Kantar.
Not much else is known about the newly-formed group, including who’s bankrolling the six-figure ad buys.
Throughout her presidential run, Warren has sought to distance herself from big-money groups, swearing off contributions from PACs and rejecting private high-dollar fundraisers. But the campaign cannot control outside groups’ independent expenditures in support.
The bolstered airtime in Nevada from Persist comes as Warren’s standing in the race slides. She finished third in Iowa and fourth in New Hampshire, despite having some of the strongest organizations on the ground in both states, and the potential home state advantage from neighboring Massachusetts.
Warren’s campaign has since attempted to lower expectations for Warren in the early states and instead focus on victories in Super Tuesday states, where campaign manager Roger Lau predicted that Warren could finish in the top two in eight of the 14 states.
Persist PAC’s name echoes one of Warren’s taglines. “Nevertheless, she persisted” has long been a core mantra for the campaign’s brand, following a contentious exchange with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor in 2017.
“When you don’t grow up rich, you learn how to work,” narrated a female voice in the PAC’s first ad, released late Tuesday night.
“When the system is broken, you step up to fix it,” the narrator said as the ad featured a photo of Warren, hands with “Stop Kavanaugh” penned in ink on the palm. “That’s why Obama picked her.”
“It’s why she’ll take him on — and win,” the narrator said, quickly intercutting a shot of President Donald Trump.
In her previous Senate races, Warren has received the support of PACs and other outside groups. She is currently supported by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a 501(c)4, or “social welfare organization,” which can operate in a similar manner to a PAC but can ultimately only put half its spending toward political advocacy. PCCC has supported Warren since her first foray into electoral politics in 2012.
But just weeks ago during the Democratic debate in New Hampshire, Warren called out her opponents on stage for receiving help from super PACS, pointing out that only her and Sen. Amy Klobuchar were exempt.
“Everyone on this stage except Amy and me is either a billionaire or is receiving help from PACs that can do unlimited spending,” Warren said.
“If you really want to live where you say, then put your money where your mouth is and say no to the PACS,” Warren challenged onstage in New Hampshire. “I think the way we build a democracy going forward is not billionaires reaching in their own pockets or people sucking up to billionaires. The way we build it going forward is we have a grassroots movement funded from the grassroots up. That’s the way I’m running this campaign.”
Since then, a newly-formed pro-Klobuchar super PAC has also formed. Kitchen Table Conversations PAC formed last week and placed $284,000 of ads in Nevada on Monday.
The group hasn’t filed donor disclosure records providing details on who’s funding it.
Warren and Klobuchar are the latest in the list of 2020 Democrats contenders who now find themselves backed by super PACs as the primary season enters an increasingly aggressive phase, despite their appearance earlier last year to distance themselves from big-money groups.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is being backed by a super PAC funded by wealthy allies, while former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is being supported by a liberal pro-veterans group VoteVets. Both groups have already poured millions on behalf of the moderate Democrats.
Warren and her campaign have not responded to ABC News’ request for comment about the Persist PAC.
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