Valenzuela is rejecting corporate PAC money
End Citizens United (ECU) and Let America Vote (LAV) today endorsed Candace Valenzuela in Texas’ 24th Congressional District. Valenzuela has put forth a comprehensive Protecting our Democracy and Ending Political Corruption plan, which includes working to pass the For the People Act, overturning Citizens United and restoring the Voting Rights Act.
“As an educator and lifelong Texan, Candace Valenzuela is committed to rooting out corruption and putting an end to the outsized influence of money in politics,” said ECU and LAV President Tiffany Muller. “Candace knows that progress on critical issues, like lowering the cost of prescription drugs, isn’t possible if our leaders in Congress are more focused on appeasing donors and corporate PACs than representing their constituents. We’re proud to endorse Candace Valenzuela, and we look forward to helping her win.”
“It’s nearly impossible to solve zip code injustice, address the racial wealth gap and create more opportunity for Texas families without comprehensive campaign finance reform,” said Candace Valenzuela. “I’m running for Congress to stand up against Big Money special interests and to root out government corruption. That’s why I am rejecting corporate PAC money and have pledged to support anti-corruption and reform legislation like the For the People Act. We need to put power back in the hands of the people to restore faith in our democracy.”
Valenzuela joins a growing movement of candidates rejecting corporate PAC money throughout the country, and specifically in Texas, where Democrats in some of the state’s most competitive races are turning down this money, including Wendy Davis (TX-21), Sri Preston Kulkarni (TX-22), Gina Ortiz Jones (TX-23), Colin Allred (TX-32), and MJ Hegar (TX-Senate). With rapidly growing and diverse populations, Democrats are poised to be competitive in Texas in 2020.
ECU and LAV recently merged to combat the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: Big Money and voter suppression. ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington so that the government works for all Americans. LAV is building a grassroots effort to fight back against voter suppression and protect every American’s right to vote.
ECU and LAV will work to end our rigged political system by electing reform champions, passing meaningful legislative reforms, and elevating these issues in the national conversation. ECU has more than four million members nationwide, including 6,700 in Texas’ Twenty-Fourth Congressional District, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14. In 2018, over 1,000 LAV grassroots volunteers knocked on over 340,000 doors, made 112,000 calls, and sent 341,000 texts to help elect 100 pro-democracy leaders.
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