American Principles Project

American Principles Project
AbbreviationAPP
Formation2009
FoundersFrancis P. Cannon, Jeff Bell, Robert P. George
Legal statusTax-exempt organization
Headquarters2800 Shirlington Road, Arlington, VA 22206
Coordinates38°50′33″N 77°05′05″W / 38.842541°N 77.084644°W / 38.842541; -77.084644
Chairman of the Board
Sean Fieler
Founding President
Francis P. Cannon
President
Terry Schilling
Budget
501(c)(4) Revenue: $5.12 million
501(c)(4) Expenses: $4.57 million
(FYE December 2022)[1]
Websiteamericanprinciplesproject.org

The American Principles Project (APP) is a socially conservative 501(c)(4) political advocacy group founded in 2009 by Robert P. George, Jeff Bell, and Francis P. Cannon.[2] It is chaired by Sean Fieler.[3][4] It is led by Terry Schilling, the son of the late former U.S. Representative Bobby Schilling.[5][6] The organization has an affiliated super PAC (political action committee), the American Principles Project PAC, which receives significant funding from Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein.[7][8] It also has an affiliated 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank, the American Principles Project Foundation.

The American Principles Project focuses on using social issues, instead of economics, as a way to turn out voters for conservative candidates.[9] APP advocates for parental rights and has criticized or opposed abortion rights, Common Core education standards, Federal Reserve System monetary policy, same-sex marriage, transgender rights, and voting rights legislation. In particular, after the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage in 2015, APP shifted to advocacy against affirmation of transgender identity in young people.[10]

APP uses polls, focus groups, and other behavioral science methods to decide on messaging for political campaign advertising.[9]

  1. ^ "American Principles Project - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Fuller, Jaime (June 4, 2014). "Jeff Bell was the New Jersey GOP Senate nominee in 1978. Also, in 2014". Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (April 12, 2022). "'Parents Against Stupid Stuff' PAC sets sights on CT race for governor". CT Mirror. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  4. ^ Gillman, Todd (February 5, 2015). "Rick Perry embraces idea that Texas is "crazy" at American Principles Project gala". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Smith, Zachary Oren (May 28, 2020). "Terry Schilling, son of a Republican candidate for Iowa's 2nd District, defends deleted tweets, saying they won't hurt his father's chances". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  6. ^ Hayden, Sarah (May 27, 2020). "Son of U.S. House hopeful Bobby Schilling, who is now running his campaign, defends anti-gay tweets". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Orr, Gabby (August 7, 2020). "The Wedge Issue That's Dividing Trumpworld". Politico. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  10. ^ Nagourney, Adam; Peters, Jeremy W. (April 16, 2023). "How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 25, 2024.