Jones rejects corporate PAC money; Hurd has taken over $1.7 million from corporate PACs and voted against anti-corruption legislation
Washington, DC –– End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed Gina Ortiz Jones for Congress in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. Jones is the first 2020 House challenger endorsement made by ECU, a reform group dedicated to getting big money out of politics. Gina Ortiz Jones’ grassroots campaign is rejecting corporate PAC money.
“After serving her country in the U.S. Air Force for 12 years, Gina Ortiz Jones is running to serve the hardworking Texans who Congressman Will Hurd no longer listens to,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Gina isn’t taking a dime of corporate PAC money in her race and that shows Texans who she’ll fight for in Congress. Congressman Hurd fills his campaign coffers with money from the telecom industry and Wall Street and then votes to protect their interests. Texans don’t want a congressman bought and paid for by special interests. Gina Ortiz-Jones will work for Texas, not corporate PACs.”
“I joined the United States Air Force and served in Iraq, because I wanted to give back to a country that has given so much to me and my family,” said Gina Ortiz Jones. “While Texans are struggling to afford the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, Congressman Hurd supports tax breaks for big pharmaceutical companies. I want there to be no question about to whom I hold myself accountable, which is why I’m not taking a dime from corporate PACs. Will Hurd can’t say the same. I look forward to working with End Citizens United to combat the toxic influence of big money in politics.”
While Jones rejects corporate PAC money, Congressman Hurd has developed a strong relationship with corporate special interests in Washington. Over the course of his career, Hurd has taken $1.7 million from corporate PACs. Hurd also voted against the For the People Act (H.R. 1), the most comprehensive anti-corruption and reform bill since Watergate that was passed by the House in March. Jones came within 926 votes of unseating Hurd in the 2018 midterms.
During the 2018 election cycle, ECU spearheaded the movement among candidates to forgo corporate PAC money in their campaigns. Fifty-eight members of the 116th Congress are refusing to take corporate PAC money, which includes 27 members of the House freshman class who flipped their district.
ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington so government works for all Americans. The reform group has four million members nationwide, including 4,500 in TX-23, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14. The early endorsement will allow ECU to connect its over 550,000 donors members with Jones’ campaign to make sure she has the resources to win.
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