By: Simone Pathe
End Citizens United, a liberal political action committee, is throwing its weight behind Democrat Jon Ossoff in the race to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in Georgia’s 6th District.
The endorsement is the latest sign that Democrats want to make a play for the district, which President Donald Trump carried by less than 2 points last fall, and that Ossoff is their top candidate.
The former Hill staffer and Atlanta native has already banked half a million dollars in support through the liberal website Daily Kos. Georgia Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson, Ossoff’s former boss, have both endorsed him.
“We need an anti-corruption reformer like Jon Ossoff in Congress to lead the fight against President Trump and his allies, who are doubling down on a rigged system,” Tiffany Muller, executive director of End Citizens United, said in statement.
The group’s goal is to overturn the controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision that deregulated corporate and union spending for or against specific candidates. It endorses Democratic candidates committed to a campaign finance overhaul, and spent $15 million on House and Senate races in 2016.
The PAC will connect Ossoff’s campaign with local volunteers — it has 40,000 members in the Atlanta area — and activate its national donors, ensuring “he has the resources to win,” according to a statement from the organization.