Wagner has taken over $3.7 million from corporate PACs over the course of her political career
The Big Money 20 campaign will focus on defeating incumbents who represent a rigged Washington establishment that puts corporate special interests ahead of voters’ needs
End Citizens United (ECU) today named Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-02) to the Big Money 20, the group’s top incumbents to defeat in 2020. ECU’s Big Money 20 campaign is focused on defeating the worst incumbents in Washington who are rigging the system to benefit themselves, their donors, and the corrupt establishment. The group will show voters how members of Congress, like Ann Wagner, are beholden to the influence of Big Money and special interest groups and making everyone else pay the price.
“Ann Wagner was a big-time GOP fundraiser who has sold out to Big Money in order to keep her seat in Washington,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Throughout her political career, Wagner has accepted more than $3.7 million from corporate PACs and has opposed anti-corruption legislation that would limit the influence of big money in politics. While Missourians struggle with high healthcare and prescription drug costs, Congresswoman Wagner has taken $472,000 from healthcare and pharmaceutical PACs all while attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act and thwarting efforts to reduce prescription drug costs. Meanwhile, Jill Schupp proposed legislation to ban dark money in the Missouri State Senate and she refuses to take corporate PAC money. We look forward to shining a light on the Congresswoman’s relationship with her corporate special interest donors.”
End Citizens United aims to educate voters about the Big Money 20 and rally support for reforming the political system. The members of the Big Money 20 are incumbents who take money from corporate special interests, mega-donors, and industries like Big Pharma and Wall Street and then put those interests ahead of their constituents.
When it comes to Ann Wagner, if you want to know how she’ll be voting on a particular issue, all you have to do is follow the money. She voted against Net Neutrality and to allow companies to sell user data without their consent, and pocketed over $200,000 from corporate PACs in the Telecom and Tech industries. She voted to reject the Paris Climate Agreement and supported offshore drilling, and pocketed $195,000 from the fossil fuel industry. She opposed universal background checks and pocketed large sums from the NRA. Ann Wagner uses her position in Congress to advocate on behalf of industries most beneficial to her personal financial gain instead of advocating on behalf of her constituents and the issues that matter most to them. Ann Wagner is Washington corruption at its worst.
In the 2018 cycle, End Citizens United helped defeat or retire 82% of the Big Money 20 targets. ECU will connect its more than 550,000 donors to endorsed candidates who are challenging Big Money 20 targets.
ECU has conducted extensive polling and research showing that voters across the political spectrum support getting Big Money out of politics. ECU is a traditional political action committee (PAC) with more than four million members, including over 10,000 in MO-02. The reform group raised and spent $44 million last cycle, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.
For a full list and additional background on the Big Money 20, click here.
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