Can Moderate Nonprofits Supporting Centrist Candidates and Policies Be Tax Exempt?

Can a bipartisan centrist nonprofit advocate for centrist policies and candidates without that advocacy constituting lobbying and campaign intervention?  Its a (c)(4) so its not prohibited from either, but it cannot be primarily engaged in those activities.  From the heartland, this article in the Kansas Reflector:

A former president of the Kansas Senate is among leaders of a new nonprofit organization established to educate voters about centrist Republican and Democratic candidates for the Legislature who hold moderate political positions on public education, health care and the economy.

Steve Morris, who served in the Senate from 1993 to 2013, said Kansans First came together in response to the growing influence of ideologically conservative legislators and the significant influence of right-wing special interests at the Capitol. Kansans First, a 501(C)(4) political organization, plans to make a case in the 2024 election cycle for reconstituting a consensus-building coalition in the House and Senate, he said.

“I believe that we have a Legislature that’s out of touch with the majority of Kansans,” Morris said. “The Legislature has migrated too far to the right.”  In addition to Morris, members of the Kansans First board include former Sen. Tom Hawk, a Democrat; Sens. John Skubal and Mary Jo Taylor, both Republicans; and Chris Courtwright, who served on the governor’s tax reform council. Mitch Rucker, legislative director for a former House Majority Leader Don Hineman and a 2012 Republican candidate for the Kansas House, will serve as a consultant and spokesman of the organization. Rucker said polling indicated about 70% of Kansans endorsed broadening Medicaid eligibility to include about 150,000 low-income adults and children. However, conservative GOP leaders in the House and Senate have blocked that legislation for more than five years. With the votes of GOP moderates, the Legislature adopted a Medicaid expansion bill in 2017, but it was vetoed by Gov. Sam Brownback. In January, Kelly plans to submit her sixth Medicaid proposal to the Legislature.

darryll k. jones