Washington, DC –– Today, End Citizens United (ECU) endorsed Representative Anthony Brindisi for reelection in New York’s 22nd Congressional District. Rep. Brindisi’s reform-focused campaign flipped a Republican-held district in 2018 without a dime from corporate PACs. Since getting sworn in, he has been a leader on reform in the House and co-sponsored the For the People Act (H.R.1).
“After running on a platform of fixing our broken campaign finance system and being a voice for New York families, not corporate special interests, Congressman Brindisi is delivering on those promises,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Rep. Brindisi was key in getting the For the People Act, a once-in-a-generation anti-corruption and reform bill, passed through the House this year. ECU is proud to stand with Rep. Brindisi and looks forward to supporting his reelection campaign.”
“Our campaign finance system is tailor-made to give a megaphone to big corporations and drown out the voices of individual voters,” said Congressman Anthony Brindisi. “When I first ran for Congress, I made a pledge to the people of my district that I would be accountable to them and only them. That is why my campaign has never taken a dime of corporate PAC money, and it’s why I fought to pass legislation that takes power away from special interests and gives it back to the people. I’m honored to have the endorsement of End Citizens United, and I look forward to continuing to fight with them to fix our broken campaign finance system.”
The early endorsement will allow ECU to connect its 530,000 grassroots donors with Brindisi’s campaign to help ensure he has the resources to win. Brindisi was one of the first candidates ECU endorsed in the 2018 cycle, and ECU subsequently named former Rep. Claudia Tenney to its Big Money 20, a list of the group’s top targets to defeat. In October 2018, ECU launched a $700,000 ad campaign that included television ads, digital ads, and direct mail. Brindisi was part of the coalition of 107 House challenger candidates who sent a letter to the House of Representatives demanding that a reform bill be the first item on the agenda in 2019.
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 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, including 36 members of the House freshman class. The reform group has four million members nationwide, including 6,900 in New York, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.
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