So-called moderate Dems shmooze with the businesses that liberals shy away from.

At a lovely golf resort an hour south of San Francisco, a powerful bloc of legislators hit the links recently with donors who paid up to $40,000 for the opportunity to join them. On Friday, an AT&T lobbyist played golf while Assembly members chatted and lunched overlooking ocean cliffs.

This was the annual fundraiser benefitting legislators who call themselves “moderate Democrats.” After the group unexpectedly killed a centerpiece of Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate change plan last month, the moderate Democrats have been getting more scrutiny, particularly about those who pay for their elections.

Organizers of the mod Dems’ annual event won’t talk about how much it raises for the PAC or who attends. A flyer distributed to lobbyists advertises packages ranging from $5,000 to $40,000 that include dinner, golf, spa treatments and lodging at the Ritz-Carlton.

The group’s political action committee has taken in more than $4 million since 2013, with nearly one-third from Chevron, PG&E and other oil and gas companies. Other major donors include Wal-Mart, a hospital association and a realtors’ group. Around 1 percent of the committee’s money came from labor unions.

By contrast, organized labor provided more than a quarter of funds the California Democratic Party raised in the same period, and oil and gas companies made up about 6 percent. The party – which also holds fundraisers at swanky golf resorts – has traditionally declined contributions from Wal-Mart because of its anti-union policies.

The business money to the moderate Democrat committee helped several candidates, like Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, prevail last year over more liberal opponents. Cooper was critical of the governor’s failed plan to cut fuel consumption in half by 2030, but he says money from business sources did not influence his decision.

“I tell everybody: I’m not going to be with you 100 percent of the time,” Cooper says. “One day we’ll be together on a bill, another day we’ll be at odds.”

Overall, the moderate Democrat committee has spent $2.3 million on campaigns since 2013 – more than half focused on five races in the Central Valley, Orange County and Los Angeles.

The effort to elect moderate Democrats started more than a decade ago with Sacramento political consultant David Townsend, who set up the PAC and spends the money urging voters to choose moderate Democrats.

“When we started out, it was pretty lonely,” Townsend says, recalling that the moderate committee’s first fundraiser included just a half-dozen lawmakers and 25 donors. “Now when we have an event, we’ll have 25 or 30 legislators and over 100 people attending.”

The group has made its mark by casting key votes with Republicans, killing or watering down legislation backed by liberal Democrats. As the moderate Democrats’ clout grows, many will watch whether they become a force that advances new policy – or if they’ll express power just by voting “no.”

Nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture Cal Matters furnished this report.