Before Primary Election Day, Republican voters in Minnesota’s Second District are likely to receive a mailer promoting the “Grandma Small-business Owner Conservative Darlene Miller” as John Kline’s replacement in Congress.

The information will be glowing in praise … leaving the question, who paid for it?
Was it the neighbor with the ABC sign (Anybody But Clinton) ?
Well, that’s a possibility more likely it came from Avy H. Stein (or his wife, Marcie) … or one of his likeminded contributors to the Freedom and Security PAC … or other Political Action Committees who have become enamored with Darlene Miller.

Hmmm … you don’t know what the Freedom and Security PAC is ?
Well, it is a leadership PAC that is sponsored John Kline … since John Kline is not seeking re-election, his leadership PAC will fund travel, administrative expenses, consultants, polling, and other non-campaign expenses for others seeking office.
OK – you get it now … so somebody gives money to John Kline and he funnels it to other campaigns.
Last month, the only person to receive monies from John Kline’s Freedom and Security PAC was Darlene Miller.

So who is Avy H. Stein ?
Yeah, maybe you know him as the CEO of Willis Stein & Partners … or maybe from his involvement as chair of Education Corporation of America, which owns Virginia College, Golf Academy of America, Ecotech Institute, Virginia College Online, Culinard – The Culinary Institute of Virginia College and New England College of Business and Finance (NECB).
Heck, maybe you even received an invitation to the conference — “Private Equity Investing in For-Profit Education Companies” which he hosted (read the invitation or the highlights below).

Private equity investing in the for-profit education sector has been quiet lately.
Investors have been lingering on the sidelines, keeping their eyes on Washington policies and politics.
All the same, recognition is growing that it’s the private sector where solutions to America’s education problems are going to come from.

No argument, this is an amazing moment for private equity investors to explore for-profit education opportunities. And this encore conference from The Capital Roundtable is particularly valuable if you are new to the education marketplace and need to understand its particular complexities such as the Higher Education Reauthorization Act implications.
Just consider —
The education sector represents the second biggest category of GDP, so there’s a lot of need to address.
63% of the deal value last year in the for-profit education sector represented private equity transactions, up from 51% the year earlier.
There are hundreds of education companies ready for purchase at extremely low multiples — 4-5 times EBITDA.

So here’s how it works … the Freedom and Security PAC accepts a $5,000 donation from Mr. Stein and sends $5,000 to the Darlene Miller For Congress campaign designated for her primary election.

A quick review of wannabe-Congresswoman Miller’s recent FEC filing reveals quite a few contributors from the For-Profit Education industry :
Michael W Buttry of Capella Education Co.
John Kevin Gilligan of Capella Education Co.
Kathryn Myhre of Globe University
Terry Myhre of Globe University
Bridgepoint Education Inc PAC
Capella Education PAC

For those that thought with John Kline retiring and with Corinthian Colleges, Westwood College, Heritage College, University of Phoenix, Trump University, etc. drawing headlines for various investigations and complaints, that the For-Profit Educaiton industry would ignore Minnesota’s Second District campaign were wrong … support for Darlene Miller is growing.

And it’s not just the For-Profit Education industry, as the Darlene Miller For Congress received quite a few contributions from leadership PACs and other big donors.
But unless you are an expert in “Three-card Monte” it may be challenging to see the money moving.

Take for example, Kathy Beckett of Charleston West Virginia. Now, you might wonder why someone from West Virginia would care about who represents Minnesota’s Second District … but then you see that Ms. Beckett is co-chairman of the Steptoe & Johnson PLLC environmental practice group … and has an interest in petrochemical manufacturing growth and pipeline safety.
What Darlene Miller could have said to Ms. Beckett to gain her financial support is unknown … but wannabe-Congresswoman Miller got a campaign contribution from her.
Wannabe-Congresswoman Miller also got a $5,000 check from Value In Electing Women PAC … reviewing who contributed to Value In Electing Women PAC reveals that Steptoe & Johnson provided some funding.
Wannabe-Congresswoman Miller was not the only candidate to receive donations from the Value In Electing Women PAC … for example, Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) also received a $5,000 check.
Gosh, if John Kline has a leadership PAC, what about Elise Stefanik ?
Hmmm … yep, E-PAC is sponsored by Elise Stefanik … and guess who made a donation to the Darlene Miller For Congress campaign … well, if you guessed E-PAC, you won at Three-Card Monte.

Other Leadership PAC that made contributions to the Darlene Miller For Congress campaign include :
Conservative Opportunity Leadership & Enterprise PAC (sponsored by Tom Cole R-OK-04)
Defending and Investing In America’s New Endeavors PAC (Diane Black R-TN-06)
Keeping Republican Ideas Strong Timely & Inventive PAC (Kristi Noem R-SD-AtLarge)
Making Investments Majority Insured PAC (Mimi Waters R-CA-45)
Pioneer Political Action Committee (Pat Tiberi R-OH-12)
Susan PAC aka Supporting United States of America’s Next Leaders (Susan Brooks R-IN-05)

Heck, Kristi Noem must really believe in Darlene Miller as the Kristi for Congress also made a contribution.

Yep, Darlene Miller, known for being George Bush’s cheerleader, may not be known by Second District Republicans but she has plenty of friends in by Washington’s elites and special interests circles that want her to replace John Kline.