Aug 20 - Before JD Vance began his rapid rise to vice presidential candidate, he co-founded a Silicon Valley-backed donor organization to finance right-wing news stories, voter turnout operations and election polls with a goal of spreading U.S. President Donald Trump’s brand of nationalism, according to previously unreported documents on the group.

Founded in 2019, Rockbridge Network seeks to influence U.S. politics through a centrally controlled network of right-wing political groups backed by some of the same deep-pocketed tech investors who helped bankroll Vance’s political rise.

The existence of Rockbridge and Vance’s link to it have been previously reported. But three internal Rockbridge documents reviewed by Reuters and half a dozen sources familiar with the group reveal the scale of its ambitions, its roughly $75 million budget for 2024 and its role in seeking to influence November’s presidential election.

Rockbridge showcases how Trump’s selection of Vance as his running mate could empower a new set of Republican businessmen: heavyweight tech investors who favor far-reaching deregulation. Many want to weaken the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates Wall Street, and reduce oversight of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.