Chairman of Bay to Breakers race operator donated to conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene
WASHINGTON — The founder and executive chairman of the company that will put on this weekend’s iconic Bay to Breakers footrace in San Francisco has donated money to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has spread false, bigoted and dangerous information about topics ranging from mass shootings to COVID vaccines to the 2020 election.
Known as much for tutus and chicken costumes as competitive running, the 12-kilometer Bay to Breakers was acquired three years ago by Capstone Event Group, which puts on running races mostly in the Carolinas. The race is taking place on Sunday. Capstone’s board chair is John Kane, a former North Carolina college football player who founded the company after becoming an endurance athlete, according to a profile in Midtown Magazine.
On Wednesday, a Twitter account that describes itself as revealing corporate political donors to ultra-conservative politicians tweeted that Kane had given thousands of dollars to Republicans including Taylor Greene, former President Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Federal Election Commission data reviewed by The Chronicle shows that a North Carolina-based John Kane of Capstone Event Group has donated $1,000 or more to several prominent Republicans since 2020, and gave the maximum donation of $2,800 to Trump’s campaign. In 2021, Kane gave $1,000 to Greene, North Carolina Senate candidate Mark Walker and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and $500 to a group supporting Gaetz. The FEC lists no donations for Kane since May of last year. Political donations are public record.
Neither Kane nor representatives for the company immediately responded to questions.
Gaetz and Greene have downplayed the events of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and have spread conspiracy theories about President Biden’s win in the 2020 election. The Justice Department earlier opened an investigation into whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws, the New York Times reported last year.
Greene has spread conspiracy theories including that Hillary Clinton murdered people, that the 2018 Parkland school shooting was staged and that a California wildfire was sparked by a space laser. She has promoted the QAnon mass delusion and has complained of “vaccine Nazis.” She has signaled support for violence against prominent Democrats, according a to a CNN review of her Facebook activity. And in recordings revealed by Politico in 2020, Greene said that the 2018 midterm election was part of “an Islamic invasion of our government.”
The Bay to Breakers footrace is one of the most beloved traditions in a progressive city. It dates back to 1912, one in a string of events intended to help reinvigorate the city’s spirit after the 1906 earthquake.
While the event has always been apolitical, it describes itself as celebrating “the personality of San Francisco.” The Bay Area is an overwhelmingly Democratic region that symbolizes values including LGBTQ rights opposed by Republicans. San Franciscans voted for Biden over Trump 86% to 13% in 2020.
Tal Kopan (she/her) is The San Francisco Chronicle’s Washington correspondent. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan, @rachelswan
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