Ahead of tonight’s results in Alabama, End Citizens United (ECU) released the following memo outlining its work in the Alabama U.S. Senate special election between Doug Jones and Roy Moore. Key highlights:
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End Citizens United was one of Jones’ earliest endorsers, immediately following the primary and prior to allegations of Moore’s sexual abuse
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33,000 ECU members have contributed more than $600,000 directly to Jones’ campaign in small-dollar donations with an average contribution of just $12
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ECU’s early endorsement helped kickstart Jones’ critical small-dollar fundraising operation and energize his grassroots network
END CITIZENS UNITED IMPACT ON ALABAMA SENATE RACE
In a race with incredibly clear contrasts between Doug Jones, a tough prosecutor who brought justice in church bombings which killed four black girls, and Roy Moore, whose racism, homophobia and bigotry is only overshadowed by multiple allegations of child molestation, ECU came in early to endorse Doug Jones.
A grassroots-funded PAC, ECU jumped into the Alabama Senate race endorsing Doug Jones on September 27, 2017 making it one of the first endorsements for Jones, prior to the credible allegations of Moore’s sexual abuse.
With its early endorsement, ECU helped jumpstart Doug Jones’ grassroots fundraising network and build energy for the campaign. ECU members have contributed $600,000 in small-dollar donations over 11 weeks for Jones’ campaign. In total, 33,000 ECU members gave an average contribution of $12 to Jones.
In addition to his well-documented extreme beliefs and allegations of sexual abuse, Moore is closely aligned with special interest mega-donors, notably the Mercer family, which has bankrolled much of Steve Bannon’s career. Moore’s campaign additional received support from at least one hate group and secretive “dark money” organizations including Public Advocate of the United States, a radical anti-LGBT group.
Moore has also favored repealing the Johnson Amendment to allow political groups to use churches and charities to funnel money into campaigns.
ECU first announced its endorsement of Doug Jones on September 27. You can read more about the announcement here.