Koch network

The Koch network is the constellation of political, advocacy, and policy organisations built around Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist and chairman of Koch Industries. Its central vehicle is Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organisation with chapters across the country, whose super PAC Arm, Americans for Prosperity Action, is one of the largest Republican-aligned independent-expenditure committees in federal elections. On 2 June 2026, AFP Action filed approximately $6.4 million in Senate independent expenditures in a single day, spanning Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and New Hampshire .

The network was constructed from the 1970s onwards and gained public prominence during the Tea Party era. It operates through overlapping structures: Americans for Prosperity does policy advocacy and grassroots mobilisation; AFP Action funds broadcast and digital advertising via independent expenditures; the Koch donor network (sometimes called the "Seminar Network") pools major Republican donors at twice-yearly retreats. This structure allows coordination between advocacy and electoral activity within the legal limits separating 501(c)(4) issue spending from direct campaign contributions.

The 2026 cycle sees the network deploying broadcast capital where it privately assesses Republican vulnerability, even in seats public forecasters still rate as SAFE. The Iowa and Montana placements — ahead of any published rating moves — illustrate the network's use of proprietary political intelligence as a competitive resource. The Koch network has occasionally split from Republican Party orthodoxy, notably declining to back Donald Trump in 2016, but its 2026 Senate spending aligns with mainstream Republican nominees rather than reflecting any visible break from party direction.