Karl Rove Launches American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS -- First Major Conservative Super PAC and Dark Money Affiliate (2010-07-09)

Conservative strategist Karl Rove, along with Ed Gillespie, Norm Coleman, and Fred Malek, founded American Crossroads, the first major conservative super PAC, on July 9, 2010. The group raised $28 million in the 2010 midterm elections. Its sister organization, Crossroads GPS (Grassroots Policy Strategies), was established as a 501(c)(4) dark money affiliate that could fundraise without disclosing donors, creating the dual-structure model that would become standard for political spending: a super PAC for disclosed contributions and a dark money nonprofit for anonymous donations.