Washington, D.C. — End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed a new slate of candidates who are rejecting corporate PAC money in their campaigns for Congress. These commitments are part of a growing trend – as an unprecedented number of candidates across the country are rejecting corporate PAC money. ECU is leading efforts to encourage candidates to refuse corporate special interest money.

The full list of endorsed candidates includes: Lauren Baer (FL-18), Liz Watson (IN-09), Matt Morgan (MI-01), Kathy Manning (NC-13), Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), Rick Neal (OH-15), and Gary Trauner (WY-Senate).

“Voters are fed up with the way Washington does business, and they’re demanding reform,” said ECU President Tiffany Muller. “By rejecting corporate PAC money, these candidates are taking bold steps to address the problem before they even get to Congress. They’re showing voters that they’re listening. ECU is proud to endorse their campaigns and will work to help elect them to Congress.”

The decision to refuse corporate PAC contributions is a growing trend among 2018 candidates, including Democrats such as Beto O’Rourke (TX-Senate), Jason Crow (CO-06), Andy Kim (NJ-03) and Elissa Slotkin (MI-08). Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker also recently announced they would turn away corporate PAC money. ECU has identified over 70 candidates to date who are making a similar commitment to rejecting corporate PAC money.

ECU polling has found that 62% of voters believe that a candidate refusing corporate PAC money is a sign that the candidate is serious about reform. A recent Gallup poll shows that Americans’ faith in the government is at an all-time low, with over 90% believing the government is working for the benefit of a few special interests. A robust reform agenda is critical to winning support from voters, particularly independents.

ECU’s endorsement will help these candidates compete with high-spending special interests by connecting them with its grassroots members in their own states and districts, as well as to its national network of 400,000 small-dollar donors. With an average donation of $14, ECU is projected to raise $35 million for the 2018 election cycle.

ECU is an entirely grassroots-funded organization dedicated to electing members of Congress who will fight to get Big Money out of politics so Congress focuses on all of us and not only its biggest special interest donors.

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