Nebraska State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, a Democrat, has forged a reputation as a relentless advocate unafraid to engage in confrontation. Her political journey took a noteworthy turn in 2023 when she staged a high-profile filibuster against proposed restrictions on transgender procedures for minors. This bold stance garnered significant national media attention, with headlines highlighting her vocal protests and spirited chants ringing through the Capitol rotunda.
Capitalizing on this momentum, Cavanaugh launched the “Don’t Legislate Hate” political action committee (PAC), envisioning it as a vehicle to transform public attention into a formidable political force. The goal was clear: to oppose the over 400 anti-LGBTQ bills sweeping across the nation and to maintain the fervor ignited by her actions in Nebraska.
However, a glance at the PAC’s financial filings reveals a stark reality. In its inaugural year, 2023, the PAC successfully raised just under $125,000. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm appeared to wane, with contributions plummeting to approximately $42,000 in 2024. By 2025, the financial support had dwindled dramatically, with the PAC raising a mere $748.
This number—seven hundred forty-eight dollars—speaks volumes, reflecting the challenges faced in sustaining the initial promise of converting a moment of activism into a sustained political movement.
“A political action committee launched in 2023 by a trio of progressive state senators amid their unsuccessful fight to block a law restricting transgender treatments for minors is not living up to its early hype, reporting less than $1,000 in donations last year and having failed in 2024 to defeat the one candidate it spent ad money against.”
In 2023, the PAC raised just under $125,000. In 2024, that dropped to roughly $42,000. In 2025, it raised $748.
Seven hundred forty-eight dollars. That’s the number.
Six figures to three digits in two cycles. You don’t need spin to explain that. Donors don’t leave that fast if everything is humming along.
And the spending doesn’t suggest a well-oiled machine either.
“Of the just $2,791.75 in expenditures made in 2025, there were no monies disbursed to candidates or campaigns outside of Nebraska, and the lion’s share of expenses, $2,500, was paid out to the PAC’s treasurer for ‘campaign filings.’”
So most of last year’s money went to paperwork.
Over the past three years, since its founding, most expenditures have been for consulting and administrative costs, according to filings with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. In 2024, the PAC spent $5,000 on digital advertising in a state legislative race. The candidate it backed lost.
And this isn’t happening in a vacuum. Since that 2023 moment, Cavanaugh has kept choosing confrontation. Most recently, she removed a historical exhibit from the Capitol, touching off statewide backlash and a public rebuke from Republican Gov. Jim Pillen. That followed the earlier Capitol clashes during the transgender debate, when protests spilled into the building and law enforcement had to step in.
The Dam Breaks – Major Physicians Group Comes Out Against Transgender Surgery for Minors
Those moments grab attention. They always do. But attention isn’t organization. It doesn’t fix fundraising. It doesn’t build staying power. If anything, it adds to the sense that the strategy is escalation first and structure later, and the “later” never really arrives.
That’s not national infrastructure. That’s not sustained influence. That’s a flash point that never turned into anything durable.
You can draw your own conclusions about the politics. The financial story is simpler. A PAC that launched with national media buzz now struggles to raise enough to cover its own filings. The fundraising cratered. The overhead stayed. The results were thin.
At some point, the filings speak for themselves. The hype was loud. The money is gone. What’s left is the record.
Editor’s Note: With President Trump back in the White House, the state of our Union is strong once again.
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