Helena, Mt. – End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed Jon Tester for U.S. Senate. A champion of campaign finance reform, Tester has a proven track record of fighting to overturn Citizens United and working to reform the broken campaign finance system.
“There’s no stronger champion working to get Big Money out of politics than Senator Tester. He epitomizes Montana’s proud tradition of supporting good government and clean, transparent elections,” said Tiffany Muller, End Citizens United executive director. “Jon Tester knows that our democracy works best when it puts people first – not corporations and big special interests. ECU is proud to stand with Tester, and we look forward to fighting alongside of him to take on the rigged system and give all Montanans and Americans a voice.”
“Montanans believe everyone should have a voice in our elections. But the interests of hard-working families are being drowned out by corporations that can spend unlimited money and take in secret donations. That won’t stop until we put an end to the Big Money that’s polluting our politics,” said Tester. “I am honored to be endorsed by End Citizens United, an organization that represents everyday Montanans across the state and shares our interest in combating the corrosive effect unlimited, undisclosed money has on our democracy.”
Tester is at the forefront of the fight to rein in Big Money in politics and increase transparency in elections. He’s introduced bills in the Senate to shine a light on the secret, untraceable money funding our elections; put forth a constitutional amendment that strikes at the heart of Citizens United by declaring that corporations are not people; and, most recently, stood with Montana families by opposing Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court, citing his extreme position on money in politics. In response, dark money groups – groups that can raise unlimited amounts of money without disclosing their donors – have rushed into Montana and dumped nearly $1 million to attack Tester.
End Citizens United was established in March 2015 to counter the harmful effects of Citizens United and reform our campaign finance system. Last week, it announced that it has raised $4 million in the first quarter of 2017 and projects it will raise $35 million for the 2018 cycle, surpassing the $25 million it raised for the 2016 elections.
The grassroots group is entirely funded by small-dollar, grassroots donors and has grown to over 3 million members with an average contribution of $14, making it the 4th largest federal PAC of the 2016 cycle. With thousands of members across Montana, ECU will help connect Tester’s campaign with local volunteers and activate its 330,000 small-dollar national donors to make sure he has the resources to win.
Information on Tester, including his answers to the ECU questionnaire, can be found here.
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