By: Lisa Hagen
A group pushing for campaign finance reform said it raised $3.4 million in the second quarter of the year.
End Citizens United PAC, which is seeking to overturn the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United, plans to raise a total of $35 million in the 2018 cycle.
The PAC said it’s on pace with its fundraising from the second quarter of the 2016 cycle and had 30,000 first-time donors this quarter. according to a release provided first to The Hill.
The recent haul brings their 2017 fundraising to date to $7.5 million, which comes from grassroots, small-dollar donations. The group said it’s contributed $1.7 million directly to its endorsed candidates, including Democrat Jon Ossoff, who recently lost a close race in Georgia’s special election. The figure is up from last year when ECU raised $600,000 total for its endorsed candidates.
“Across the country, people are taking action. They’re ready to stand toe to toe against the deluge of special interest money. We’re seeing astounding energy and historic levels of participation,” said Tiffany Muller, ECU’s president and executive director.
“ECU was created to help to give a voice to the millions of people who feel shut out from the conversation, and our members are standing together to ensure they’re heard. This election cycle, we’ll help elect a wave of reformers who are committed to ending the corrosive influence of Big Money and to putting the power in our democracy back in the hands of the people.”
The group is seeking to step up its presence from the 2016 presidential cycle, doubling its staff in a year. The group raised $25 million last year and wants to increase that by $10 million more in 2018.
The group credits Democrats’ heightened enthusiasm to President Trump’s election in November and the 2018 House landscape. Democrats are feeling emboldened about their chances of taking back control of the lower chamber.
Democrats need to flip 24 seats in order to win back the House majority. ECU plans to endorse House challengers in the next few months, supporting candidates who want campaign finance reform.