25 percent of candidates running in both the House and Senate are rejecting corporate PAC money
Majority of candidates who outraised their Republican opponents did it without the benefit of corporate PAC money
In the third quarter of 2018, 87 no corporate PAC House candidates – 67 of whom are challengers – outraised their Republican opponents. Overall, no corporate PAC candidates make up the vast majority – 61 percent – of House challengers who outraised their Republican incumbents.
As HuffPost noted in coverage of third quarter fundraising, “Democrats’ cash edge… is all the more notable because the vast majority of the party’s contenders are outperforming Republican rivals without the benefit of corporate PAC money.”
HuffPost: Democrats In Key House Races Boast Massive Fundraising Advantage
By Daniel Marans
…
“What’s more, the bulk of Democratic House candidates are posting these historic fundraising hauls without direct help from corporations.
Eighty-five Democratic House candidates who have pledged not to accept donations from corporate political action committees have outraised their Republican opponents, according to End Citizens United, a Democratic group that encourages candidates to take the pledge. Of the six Democrats who raised more than $3 million in the third quarter, all but McGrath have promised not to accept corporate PAC money.
“The Democrats’ ability to raise money from an energized base means that their principled position to refuse corporate PAC money has not had much impact on their overall war chests,” said Baumann, who worked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2006, a Democratic wave year.
End Citizens United maintains that candidates raise more grassroots dollars because of the pledge, not despite it. “In giving up corporate PAC money, these candidates gain voters’ trust allowing grassroots donors to feel they are part of a movement and standing toe-to-toe against special interests money,” said Anne Feldman, a spokeswomen for the group.”