Jane Fonda, long a darling of the activist left, is quietly deploying a well-funded political machine to boost some of the most radical climate and socialist candidates on the ballot.
Her vehicle is Jane Fondas Climate PAC, which has already steered millions of dollars into congressional, state and local races ahead of Novembers midterms, backing Democrats whose environmental and political agendas mirror her own hard-left worldview. According to The New York Post, the actress PAC has raised $8 million and pumped more than $5 million into races this year with barely any public scrutiny, as revealed in the groups latest federal campaign filing for the 2025-2026 election cycle.
The PAC has spent $1.8 million on operations, distributed $3.4 million directly to candidates, and funneled another $228,000 to other committees, while still sitting on roughly $5 million in cash. Once branded Hanoi Jane after she infamously posed atop a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun in 1972 at the height of the Vietnam War, Fonda, now 88, has never abandoned her role as a left-wing agitator.
She was repeatedly arrested outside the US Capitol in 2019 while helping organize Fire drill Fridays to agitate for the Green New Deal, a sweeping climate plan critics say would devastate the American energy sector and expand federal power. Her latest political push has come in the form of $5,000 PAC checks to Democrats in competitive House races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and other battlegrounds that could decide which party controls Congress.
These targeted investments underscore how progressive activists are attempting to reshape the countrys energy policy and economic priorities through down-ballot races that often escape national attention. Fondas PAC also sent $5,000 to Dr. Annie Andrews, the Democratic Senate hopeful trying to unseat appointed Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) in a suddenly tight race.
Andrews, clearly aware of voter skepticism toward the far left, cut an ad with her Republican father, who insisted she is not some crazy socialist. The group has likewise thrown its weight behind Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, whose progressive record has come under scrutiny as she faces Republican challenger and former NFL broadcaster Michele Tafoya.
That contest has become another test of whether voters will embrace aggressive progressive policies or opt for a more traditional, law-and-order, pro-growth approach. Fondas PAC gave the maximum $5,000 contribution to socialist Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, whose once-promising campaign faltered after she struggled to explain her earlier call to cancel Thanksgiving. The episode highlighted how far-left rhetoric, fashionable in activist circles, can alienate ordinary voters who still value family, faith and national traditions.
The Barbarella stars group even cut a $5,000 check to a county commission candidate in Oregon, demonstrating how its influence extends well beyond marquee federal contests. This granular strategy mirrors the lefts long-term effort to capture local institutions and regulatory bodies that shape everything from land use to energy permitting.
Her contributions totaling $40,000 in 2025 in Luzerne County, Pa., a region scarred by abandoned coal mines and Superfund sites, helped Democrats seize control of the county council. That shift could have major implications for local energy policy and economic development in a community that once relied on traditional industry and fossil fuels.
She also gave $5,000 to congressional candidate State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Tenn.), who was expelled from the Tennessee House after joining a gun control protest on the chamber floor, only to be later reinstated. Pearsons elevation by national progressives underscores how left-wing donors are eager to reward confrontational tactics that bypass normal legislative processes.
The latest Federal Election Commission filing from Michigan House candidate and Sunrise Movement cofounder William Lawrence shows he, too, received a $5,000 contribution from Fondas PAC. Lawrences climate activist group has demanded sweeping government action on climate change, and he was charged with felony trespassing in 2013 after he locked himself to an Enbridge Energy pipeline at age 22.
Lawrence, who says he allowed his Democratic Socialists of America membership to lapse this summer just days before winning his primary, is now challenging GOP Rep. Tom Barrett (D-Mich.) after spending only $700,000 to secure the nomination. He has since embarked on an aggressive fundraising drive, pulling in $3.7 million this cycle with help from other environmental organizations eager to push Washington further left on climate and energy.
An Oct. 14 Emerson College poll found Lawrence leading Barrett 53% to 45% among likely voters, a worrying sign for Republicans in a race that could send another Green New Deal ally to Congress. Fonda also gave the maximum allowed contribution to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), 80, co-author of the Green New Deal with squad Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), whose proposal demands a rapid transition to 100% clean energy.
Fondas PAC openly declares that its mission is to end the stranglehold the fossil fuel industry has on our lives and our planet by electing climate champions at the state and local level. Last year, Fonda told the LA Times she admired how Republicans took over state legislatures and county councils, adding: Down ballot, if you come in, especially for primaries, you can really make a difference. Fonda is also a shrewd operator when it comes to cultivating wealthy allies, as billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer donated $310,000 to her PAC before receiving her endorsement in his failed bid for governor, as The Post reported this spring.
With millions already deployed and millions more in reserve, her Climate PAC is poised to keep bankrolling candidates who favor expansive government control over energy and the economy, even as many voters remain wary of the costs and consequences of the lefts climate crusade.
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