End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed Dr. Hiral Tipirneni in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District for the special election on Tuesday, April 24. Coinciding with the endorsement, Tipirneni announced she is rejecting all corporate PAC money in her campaign for Congress.
“As an emergency room physician and advocate for cancer research, Dr. Hiral Tipirneni has dedicated her life to helping others. She’s exactly the kind of proven problem-solver we need to reform Washington and help improve the lives of Arizonans,” said ECU President Tiffany Muller. “Dr. Tipirneni’s decision to reject corporate PAC money underscores her commitment to giving a voice to Arizona families who have been ignored by Washington’s rigged system as special interests have gotten their way. End Citizens United is proud to endorse Dr. Tipirneni.”
“It’s rather apparent that Washington is broken, and stopping the stream of secret money is a huge step in the right direction,” stated Dr. Hiral Tipirneni. “I promise to fight for our neighbors and communities here in the West Valley, and not corporate handlers more worried about their bottom-lines than Americans’ well-being.”
“Arizonans are demanding reform in Congress and Hiral is the only candidate in this race who will fight for their interests — not the corporate special interests,” said former AZ-02 Congressman Ron Barber, a member of ECU’s board of directors. “By rejecting corporate PAC money, she’s already proving to Arizona families that she’s with them. Hiral will fight to end the corrosive influence of money in politics.”
Her commitment is part of a growing trend – as an unprecedented number of candidates are rejecting corporate PAC money. ECU is leading efforts to encourage candidates to refuse corporate special interest money and has identified over 80 candidates this cycle rejecting the money.
A recent Gallup poll shows that Americans’ faith in the government is at an all-time low, with over 90% believing the government is working for the benefit of a few big interests. A robust reform agenda is critical to winning support from voters, particularly independents. Notably, ECU polling has found that 62% of voters believe that a candidate refusing corporate PAC money is a sign that the candidate is serious about reform.
ECU’s endorsement will help Tipirneni compete with high-spending special interest groups by connecting her with its more than 5,800 grassroots members in AZ-08, as well as its national network of 400,000 small-dollar donors. With an average donation of $14, ECU is projected to raise $35 million for the 2018 election cycle.
The endorsement comes on the heels of the high-profile special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, where ECU was the first national group to endorse Conor Lamb, and worked with his campaign to promote his no corporate PAC commitment through paid and earned media. The grassroots PAC had a $550,000 impact on the race, raising $300,000 directly for Lamb and spending an additional $250,000 on television and digital ads. ECU also played an important role in the Alabama special election, endorsing Doug Jones early on and raising over $600,000 in small-dollar donations to his campaign.
ECU is an entirely grassroots-funded organization dedicated to electing members of Congress who will fight to get Big Money out of politics so Congress focuses on all of us and not only its biggest special interest donors.