End Citizens United (ECU) and Let America Vote (LAV) today announced its first round of endorsements for the 2022 election cycle. The endorsements include: Senator Mark Kelly (AZ), Senator Michael Bennet (CO), Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (GA), Senator Maggie Hassan (NH), and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV).
All five candidates have cosponsored the For the People Act (S.1), a once-in-a-generation piece of legislation aimed at stopping billionaires and corporate special interests from buying our elections, shining a light on dark money, ending partisan gerrymandering, protecting and expanding the freedom to vote, and instituting iron-clad ethics laws to crackdown on corruption.
“During their time in the Senate, these five reformers have become leaders in the battle against Big Money in politics and protecting our constitutional right to vote,” said ECU // LAV President Tiffany Muller. “They are fighting to change the system so that government works for the people and not corporate special interests intent on protecting their power and the status quo, which has led to policies that hurt Americans, like tax handouts for the wealthiest one percent and big corporations paid for on the backs of American families. We’re proud to endorse them, and we look forward to helping reelect them.”
“Every day, I work with Republicans and Democrats to get things done for Arizonans, but corporate special interests have broken Washington. That’s why I continue to refuse any corporate PAC money and why I publish my official schedule online — so Arizonans know I’m always working for them. I’m proud to have the support of End Citizens United and Let America Vote, who are doing the important work of fighting to eliminate the influence of big corporations on our government and return power to the voters,” said Senator Mark Kelly.
“I am the only Senator running for re-election who isn’t taking a cent from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists because if we are going to take the influence of big money out of politics and restore our democracy, we need to lead by example. I am glad to have the support of End Citizens United and Let America Vote because we have to stand up for exercise in self-government and hand our kids and grandkids a democracy in stronger shape than we found it,” said Senator Michael Bennet.
“The work to strengthen our democracy requires all of us to be engaged and use our voice – that is why the work of these organizations is so important and why I’m grateful for their support. In my first weeks as Georgia’s U.S. Senator, I acted quickly to make sure families and businesses across the state had the resources they needed to begin to recover. There’s still work left to do, and with the help of ECU and LAV, we will continue our progress,” said Senator Raphael Warnock.
“No one does democracy better than New Hampshire, and I am proud to fight to ensure that corporate special interests never overpower the voices of Granite Staters,” said Senator Maggie Hassan. “We need campaign finance reform now to stop billionaires from buying our elections and end the flood of dark money interests trying to control our politics. My focus is on getting big money out of politics so that our democracy can deliver for New Hampshire’s hard-working families.”
“With dark money flooding our elections and hundreds of voter suppression laws being proposed across the country, I am focused on passing commonsense legislation to strengthen our democracy,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “Protecting the American people’s right to vote and making sure that corporate special interests can’t buy our elections are top priorities for me, and I look forward to continuing to work with End Citizens United to pass much-needed election reform.”
End Citizens United // Let America Vote is dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money and attempts to block access to the ballot box. ECU led the effort to flip the House in 2018 by supporting pro-reform candidates that stood up to Big Money and corporate special interests. In 2020, ECU merged with Let America Vote, a grassroots organization that is fighting to protect all Americans’ right to vote, and played a pivotal role in electing pro-democracy Senate candidates that helped flip the chamber. ECU // LAV has more than four million members nationwide and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.
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