Press Releases

Ann Wagner Is Propped Up By Corporate PACs, Not Missourians

Oct 02, 2020

Wagner has cashed in over $3.7 million from corporate PACs

Jill Schupp refuses all corporate PAC money

As we await final fundraising numbers for Q3, here’s a quick reminder that Representative Ann Wagner sits deep in the pocket of her corporate special interest donors: throughout the few terms Wagner has served in Congress, she has become a favorite of the corporate special interests. Wagner has cashed in over $3.7 million from corporate PACs, making up 27% of her total campaign contribution. That’s $3.3 million more than she’s raised from small-dollar donors over the same period of time. The overwhelming support she receives from corporations instead of real people is exactly why Rep. Wagner stands up for their interests instead of those she was elected to represent.

Meanwhile, Jill Schupp, the Democratic candidate for Missouri’s Second Congressional District, doesn’t take any money from corporate PACs, and is building a movement powered by small dollar donors and people who support her vision for the state. Jill has made the fight to get Big Money out of politics a key part of her campaign platform, and wants to reduce the influence of special interests and lobbyists in our election system.

Schupp will stand up to corporate special interests and fight for the issues Missourians care about most, like access to quality, affordable healthcare and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Rep. Wagner has taken $472,000 from PACs in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and has repeatedly attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and blocked attempts to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for her state. According to AARP, 35% of Missouri residents stopped taking medication as prescribed due to unaffordable costs in 2017. That same year, Wagner voted for the GOP tax bill, which gave $76 billion in tax cuts to Big Pharma.

While Jill Schupp wants to lower taxes for hard working middle class families and take on corruption in Washington that so often unbalances the scales in favor of the mega rich, Rep. Wagner supported the disastrous 2017 tax bill that benefitted millionaires and big corporations. On top of the $1.9 trillion it added to the deficit, Missourians’ Medicare and Social Security are at risk as Congress tries to pay for these corporate giveaways.

Schupp recognizes the threat of climate change and the irreversible toll it will take on Missourians if politicians don’t start putting the needs of their constituents ahead of fossil fuel companies. In office, Schupp will help transition to a clean energy economy and support reentrance into the Paris Climate Agreement. Rep. Wagner has taken $195,000 from fossil fuel industries and follows suit with Trump’s partisan attacks on the Paris Climate Agreement.

Ann Wagner is out of touch with the needs of Missourians. Missouri needs an elected official who answers to them, not corporations or special interest groups. Jill Schupp doesn’t take money from corporate PACs, and won’t be beholden to their demands in office.

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