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Rockbridge Network
American political advocacy group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Rockbridge Network is a conservative political advocacy group founded by JD Vance and Chris Buskirk.
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The group has been backed by Silicon Valley investors, and become known for its connections to investors in the tech industry, as well as to the second Donald Trump administration.[1]
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Purpose, organization, and methodology
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Rockbridge describes itself as "a kind of political venture capital firm".[2][3] In 2022, the organization circulated a brochure[2][3] which stated the following:[4]
"Our goal is to bring together investors who are dissatisfied with the status quo of politics and raise capital to fund projects that will disrupt but advance the Republican agenda. We are focused on supporting people and projects that can end the decline and revitalize our country. [...] The Rockbridge Network will replace the current Republican ecosystem of think tanks, media organizations and activist groups that have contributed to the Party's decline with better action-oriented, more effective people and institutions that are focused on winning."[4]
The brochure outlines some of the organization's specific "projects" and plans to achieve their goals. One goal is to "build a political coalition that will win national elections with 55% of the popular vote".[4] Another goal, which they address through their "Rockbridge Media Project", involves "building a new conservative ecosystem" by funding various media initiatives.[4] The "Lawfare & Strategic Litigation" project proposes to use "strategic litigation" to "identify leverage points where the law allows [them] to hold bad actors, including the media, accountable".[4] The "Rockbridge Transition Project" proposes to "create a 'government-in-waiting' with the people and the plans to staff the next Republican Administration" in order to "govern effectively with conservative goals, from day one".[4] The "Red State Project", which in 2021 had a larger budget per state than any of the other projects combined, accused "the left" of "[investing] heavily in state-level infrastructure to turn red states blue", and said that Rockbridge was "building a centralized, organizing force in each state by hiring staff to coordinate like-minded groups to ensure we win".[4] Another project indicates the group's interest in redistricting, saying that "efforts to influence the new Congressional maps [were] underway and are [sic] results [were] trending favorably."[4] The brochure says Rockbridge participated in "bringing together and coordinating the activities of the conservative coalition", including "life groups, Second Amendment groups, free enterprise, immigration, education choice and excellence, [and] faith" groups.[4]
Reuters reported that Rockbridge "seeks to influence U.S. politics through a centrally controlled network of right-wing political groups backed by some of the same deep-pocketed tech investors who helped bankroll Vance's political rise".[1]
Rockbridge groups
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2025) |
According to The New York Times, Rockbridge "steers" eight organizations, "including four dark-money 501(c)(4) organizations, two super PACs, a donor-advised 501(c)(3) fund for nonprofit activity and the Rockbridge Network umbrella organization, an L.L.C. Mr. Buskirk's main super PAC, Turnout for America, [had] raised at least $25 million [in 2024]."[5] Reuters reported that as of August 2024, none of the Rockbridge groups had "their own websites or much of a public footprint".[1]
Better Tomorrow
Better Tomorrow is a nonprofit organization based in Richmond, Virginia.[6] Reuters characterized it as a "get-out-the-vote operation".[1] In 2023, Better Tomorrow gave grants to American Encore, The Faithful in Action, and Firebrand Action, and received a grant from American Water, which "makes grants to public charities based on matching employee contributions", according to CauseIQ.[7] Members of the organization include President Director Buskirk; Directors Roger Kimball and Ned Ryun; and treasurer Janna Rutland.[6][7]
The Faithful in Action
Faithful in Action was incorporated in 2023 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with Buskirk as president.[8] According to Reuters its mission is to "recruit churchgoers into political activism".[1]
Firebrand Action
Firebrand Action, incorporated in 2022 in Glen Allen, Virginia,[9] handles "Rockbridge's efforts to influence journalism", according to Reuters.[1] The official website for Firebrand Action stated that their mission was to be a group that "revolutionizes and turbocharges Republican political media, strategy, and messaging", and that they "challenge the political status quo and promote strong and persuasive pro-American messaging at all levels of dialogue."[10] According to CauseIQ, "Firebrand Action conducted outreach efforts focused on educating the general public about the benefits of populist public policies."[9][a]
In October 2024, Reuters reported that state records listed Buskirk as the group's president and James Blair as its secretary, and that Blair resigned from Firebrand before joining the Trump campaign.[1] Janna Rutland is treasurer.[9]
Over the Horizon Action
Over the Horizon Action is based in Arlington, Virginia, and located in Washington, D.C. Conservative activist Ned Ryun was listed as the Director in 2023.[11] According to CauseIQ, "Over the Horizon Action conducts legal and public policy research" and "engaged in nonpartisan voter registration efforts and outreach to educate voters on the ways in which public policies impact economic growth."[11] Reuters also characterized it as a "get-out-the-vote operation".[1]
The organization has received funding from Better Tomorrow and has issued grants to Firebrand Action and the Schwab Charitable Fund.[11] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received $100,000 from Over the Horizon Action for speaking at the Rockbridge Fall Summit on November 7, 2024.[12]
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History
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The Rockbridge Network was founded in 2019 by JD Vance and Chris Buskirk.[13] According to The New York Times, the organization started to form when "Buskirk began informally hosting a series of small dinners with the hopes of laying groundwork for Mr. Vance’s political career and, eventually, of building a Trump-aligned alternative to the Koch Network."[5] Rockbridge was reportedly named after Rockbridge, Ohio, where one of these early meetings was held in a resort.[5] The group held their first official summit in Arizona in 2021.[2]
The group was first reported on in 2022 by The New York Times,[2] after the group held a meeting at Mar-a-Lago.[2] At that meeting, Buskirk, Omeed Malik, and Rebekah Mercer reportedly "started discussing how to finance a 'parallel economy' of conservative businesses", and this discussion led to the founding of 1789 Capital.[1]
The Rockbridge Network had a significant budget for the 2024 U.S. elections.[1] In April 2024, Donald Trump called in to a meeting the group was hosting at Mar-a-Lago.[1][13] Donald Trump Jr. has also spoken with the group, as has James Blair, political director for the Trump campaign who would go on to become the White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Trump administration.[14][15]
After the 2024 election, Rockbridge held their annual fall summit. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who would go on to become the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in February, spoke at the summit.[12] The New York Times reported that the electoral victory "made Rockbridge suddenly a hot ticket"[5] and that for some attendees the organization had raised the minimum price of attendance from USD$5,000 to $25,000.[5]
"Around the jubilant open bars and music-filled ballrooms, attendees openly traded notes on what Trump administration roles they might get and debated whether Mr. Musk was the world's most powerful person."[5]
In June 2025, Rockbridge announced their plans to establish a regional division in Asia, called Rockbridge Asia.[16] The plans–which were not completely finalized at the time–included a regional headquarters in Seoul headed by Chung Yong-jin, a branch in Taiwan headed by Richard Tsai, and a branch in Japan headed by Tadashi Maeda.[16][17][18] Some publications noted that this plan coincided with the early days of the presidency of Lee Jae Myung,[16][18][19] and a reporter for The Korea Herald said that "[the] organization is expected to serve as a proxy diplomatic channel to Washington on key issues such as trade and defense, given its central base in Korea, adjacent to key US allies and China amid rising tensions."[16][b]
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Donors, members, and connections
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The group is backed by Silicon Valley figures, including some without a history of political donations or investments. Other funds come from traditional Republican donors looking for new, innovative organizations to give to.[13]
Major donors include Rebekah Mercer,[3][20][21] Tyler Winklevoss,[17][18] Cameron Winklevoss,[17][18] and Peter Thiel.[3][20] Vance and Thiel have a long history of working together, with Thiel backing many of Vance's commercial and political ventures.[22]
As of November 2024[update], Rockbridge membership costs ranged from USD$100,000 for a "limited partner" to USD$1,000,000 for a "principal partner", according to The New York Times.[5] As of 2023, the group had approximately 125 members;[15] this number had grown to about 150 by November 2024.[5]
Rockbridge has held a number of meetings and conferences, including two annual summits. Speakers at these events have included Donald Trump,[5][21] Donald Trump Jr.,[21] Tucker Carlson,[5] Marc Andreessen,[5][23] Blake Masters,[5] Steve Wynn,[5] David O. Sacks,[5][17] Woody Johnson,[5] Scott Bessent,[21] Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,[12][21] Tulsi Gabbard,[21] Steve Witkoff,[21] Susie Wiles,[1][23] Leonard Leo,[1] Palmer Luckey,[5] and Russell Brand.[21] The New York Times also reported that Tom Emmer was slated to speak at a Rockbridge conference in April 2022.[2]
Other affiliates include Marco Rubio,[18] Howard Lutnick,[18] Ken Howery,[5] and Luke Nosek.[5]
Response
The New York Times commented on the Rockbridge Network and other organizations that were fundraising outside the established fundraising mechanisms for the Republican party:[2]
The willingness of donors to organize on their own underscores the migration of power and money away from the official organs of the respective parties, which are required to disclose their donors, to outside groups that often have few disclosure requirements.
On his podcast, America's Fractured Politics, Washington, D.C.-based activist and attorney Mark Mansour expressed multiple concerns about the Rockbridge Network:[24]
One of the most troubling aspects of Rockbridge's approach is the way it blurs the line between politics and business. By investing in companies that align with their ideological goals, they're creating a feedback loop where political power and economic power reinforce each other. This is a classic example of what political scientists call state capture, the process by which private interests take control of public institutions for their own benefit.
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See also
- America First Policies
- America PAC
- American Opportunity Alliance
- Cicero Institute
- Committee to Defeat the President
- Conservative Partnership Institute
- Executive Branch (club)
- Federal Election Campaign Act
- The Heritage Foundation
- List of political action committees
- Lobbying in the United States
- MAGA Inc.
- Matt Schlapp
- Paul Singer
- Preserve America PAC
- Project 2025
- Save America
- Vivek Ramaswamy
Footnotes
- See also: Populism
References
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