You’ll likely never meet her, see her face, or even hear her name, but one way or another, you’re going to be touched by Martha McKenna in the next year. According to Roll Call, McKenna will be leading the independent expenditure program for Senate Democrats in the 2014 race.

The independent expenditure, or IE, arm of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee controls tens of millions of dollars spent on Senate races each cycle, much of which will end up in the pockets of Alaska’s expanding media outlets.

In Alaska, the group will support U.S. Sen. Mark Begich against Republican challengers Joe Miller, Mead Treadwell and Dan Sullivan, who are running in the Republican primary.

Although a party’s IE can be effective, those kinds of expenditure groups haven’t received the kind of attention that the super PACs have received, which have fewer restrictions but cannot coordinate with a party. Often, as opposed to groups associated with a political party, super PACs are homespun and more nimble.

So far in Alaska’s Senate race, Jim Lottsfeldt is running a super PAC to support Begich. Art Hackney is running one to support former DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan. Stephen Wackowski and Taylor Bickford are is running Mead Treadwell’s super PAC.

Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com 

Correction: The original story said that Taylor Bickford was running Treadwell’s super PAC. That’s incorrect.