Restoration PAC

Restoration PAC is Richard Uihlein's personal political weapon — a super PAC funded almost entirely by the packaging supply billionaire and his wife Liz that backs the most conservative candidates in every race. At $80 million in 2024 spending, Restoration PAC makes Uihlein one of the most significant individual political donors in America, though his approach differs fundamentally from donors like Griffin or Schwarzman: while they fund establishment Republicans, Uihlein funds insurgents — primary challengers who attack Republican incumbents from the right. This insurgent strategy makes Uihlein both loved and feared within the Republican Party. Establishment Republicans view him as a destructive force who funds unelectable candidates in primaries, only to see them lose winnable general elections. MAGA Republicans view him as a hero who holds the party accountable to its conservative base. The tension is real: Uihlein-backed candidates have won primaries in several states only to lose general elections that more moderate Republicans might have won, costing the party seats. Uihlein's fortune comes from Uline, the packaging and shipping supply company that he and Liz built into a $7 billion enterprise. The company is based in Wisconsin and is privately held, allowing the Uihleins to direct company profits into political spending without shareholder oversight. The political spending is genuinely ideological rather than primarily transactional — Uihlein's positions on immigration, spending, and social issues drive his donations more than specific business interests, though he obviously benefits from the tax cuts and deregulation his candidates support. The PAC's spending is heavily concentrated in Republican primaries, where Uihlein funds challengers against incumbents he considers insufficiently conservative. This primary-focused strategy gives him leverage within the party — Republican officeholders know that deviating from conservative orthodoxy risks a well-funded primary challenger. The fear of a Uihlein-funded primary is a disciplining mechanism that pushes the Republican caucus rightward.