By John DiStaso
June 3, 2021
(WMUR) – MAJOR ENDORSEMENT FOR PAPPAS. A national anti-dark money and pro-voting rights political action committee has endorsed U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas for a third term in the U.S. House, calling him a leader in “efforts to protect voting rights and pass anti-corruption reforms.”
End Citizens United/Let America Vote includes Pappas in its first round of U.S. House endorsements for the 2022 election cycle. Prior to the merger of the two organizations in early 2020, ECU endorsed Pappas in his bid for a first term in 2018 and in 2019, for reelection the following year.
ECU/LAV — a traditional PAC that adheres to contribution limits — said it raised and spent $65.5 million in the 2020 election cycle and raised and contributed more than $101,000 to support Pappas’ reelection.
It said its $12.5 million in independent expenditures “made it the fourth largest issue group spending on the Democratic side.”
The group said it also contributed more than $2.5 million directly to its endorsed candidates and its members separately raised $9.5 million for candidates.
The group’s joint goal is – as its name says – overturn the landmark 2010 Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court ruling and through its Let America Vote component, expand voting accessibility.
It says it has more than 4 million members nationwide, including 20,700 in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.
The group cited Pappas’ support for progressive measures such as the H.R 1, the sweeping For the People Act, which is the subject of sharp debate in New Hampshire.
ECU/LAV said Pappas has “followed through on his promise to return power to Granite Staters by not accepting corporate PAC money and twice cosponsoring and voting for the For the People Act, a once-in-a-generation anti-corruption bill that would stop billionaires and corporate special interests from buying our elections, shine a light on dark money, end partisan gerrymandering, protect the freedom to vote and institute ironclad ethics laws.”
“Representative Pappas is a shining example of an elected official who carries out their job with honor and integrity,” said ECU/LAV President Tiffany Muller. “His advocacy on getting big money out of politics and cracking down on corruption, combined with his refusal to take corporate PAC money, is a testament to his dedication to New Hampshire families, not the corporate special interests that run Washington.”
Pappas said in a statement he was honored to receive the endorsement.
“This election will be a gut-check moment for our country and will determine whether we can continue to make progress on the issues that matter most to middle-class families like lowering the cost of prescription drugs, increasing access to affordable health care, and ensuring that everyone has equal opportunity to succeed in America,” Pappas said.
“The stakes could not be higher, but I know that we can accomplish these goals and so much more in the months ahead.”