End Citizens United (ECU) today unveiled its 2022 Big Money 20 list, the group’s top Republicans to defeat.
The members of the Big Money 20 represent the worst of Washington-style corrupt politics and put corporate special interests and mega donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent.
The full list of Big Money 20 includes:
Senate
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Blake Masters (AZ-Senate)
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Marco Rubio (FL-Senate)
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Herschel Walker (GA-Senate)
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Ted Budd (NC-Senate)
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Don Bolduc (NH-Senate)
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Adam Laxalt (NV-Senate)
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JD Vance (OH-Senate)
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Mehmet Oz (PA-Senate)
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Ron Johnson (WI-Senate)
House
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Tom Patti (CA-09)
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Scott Baugh (CA-47)
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Brian Maryott (CA-49)
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Bruce Poliquin (ME-02)
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Tom Barrett (MI-07)
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Karoline Leavitt (NH-01)
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Bob Healey Jr. (NJ-03)
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Colin Schmitt (NY-18)
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Steve Chabot (OH-01)
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Lisa Scheller (PA-07)
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Yesli Vega (VA-07)
“Every candidate on this list has proven that they are running to serve the billionaires and corporate special interests bankrolling their campaigns, not the people they’re supposed to represent,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “The progress we’ve made on prescription drugs, tax reform, and climate change will be reversed if these members get elected. We will continue to fight vigorously to defeat these politicians who are steeped in corruption and at the service of Big Money.”
Together, these candidates have taken nearly $6 million from pharmaceutical and insurance industries while opposing measures to reduce the cost of prescriptions, promising to reduce access to healthcare. They’ve taken more than $15 million from Wall Street and venture capital, while spearheading efforts to deregulate those industries. They’ve also taken more than $4 million from fossil fuel producers and utilities while opposing measures to grow clean energy jobs.
End Citizens United will highlight some of the most egregious examples of the Big Money 20 members’ corruption on a website. The group will work to engage voters and inform them of these candidates’ backgrounds.
Several recent polls have shown that voters believe “threats to democracy” is the top issue for voters, and that voters of both parties attribute the threat to the influence of money in politics. An August CBS News poll found that 72% of Americans think democracy is under threat with 86% attributing it to money corrupting our system, which was the top answer among Democrats and Republicans. CBS reported, “perhaps related to that influence of money, there’s still a sizable number who see a threat that seems to stem from a feeling of a lack of efficacy or agency: the idea that ‘most people don’t have a say.”
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