3 women to launch super PAC to support Donald Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three of Donald Trump's female supporters will announce on Thursday a new super political action committee to help the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

The group calls itself Women Vote Trump and aims to raise at least $30 million, according to its founders, Kathryn Serkes, Ann Stone and Amy Kremer.

"There are so many ad hoc groups of women who back Trump, and what we want to do is harness their energy and give them a home," Serkes said.

Stone said the group will advertise and have volunteers across the country in the hopes of driving up the female vote for Trump, who faces the nation's first female major-party presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, in November. Democrats and some Republicans have been portraying Trump as sexist, pointing to clips of his unflattering comments about women.

Women Vote Trump is at least the fourth super PAC backing Trump, who has repeatedly called such groups "corrupt" because they can accept large checks from donors who he says are often seeking to curry favor with candidates. Super PACs are legally barred from coordinating with candidates.

Kremer was a leader in the conservative Tea Party movement and was previously associated with another pro-Trump super PAC, Great America. She resigned in early May and soon after filed paperwork with federal regulators to start Women Vote Trump.

Stone is an ex-wife of Roger Stone, Trump's friend and longtime unofficial political adviser. The two divorced amicably, Ann Stone said, adding that she also has a friendship with Trump's chief campaign strategist, Paul Manafort, dating back to the 1970s. The women said they are maintaining the necessary legal distance from the Trump campaign.

The group will lay out its plans at a news conference Thursday in Washington, touting the support of actress Stacey Dash and popular YouTube personalities Diamond and Silk. All three celebrities frequently appear on television to promote Trump.