Zeldin has taken over $1.1 million from corporate PACs over the course of his political career
The Big Money 20 campaign is focused on defeating incumbents who perpetuate a rigged Washington establishment that puts corporate special interests ahead of voters’ needs
End Citizens United (ECU) today named Congressman Lee Zeldin (NY-01) to the Big Money 20, the group’s top incumbents to defeat in 2020. ECU’s Big Money 20 campaign is focused on defeating incumbents who are rigging the system to benefit themselves, their wealthy donors, and the corrupt establishment. The group will continue to show voters how members of Congress, like Lee Zeldin, benefit from the influence of Big Money.
“Congressman Lee Zeldin is out of touch with the needs of Long Islanders because he’s too busy courting corporate special interest donors,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Zeldin has politically benefitted from the hundreds of thousands of dollars he’s received in donations from corporate special interests, including the $32,000 he received from Big Pharma and $17,000 from health insurance corporate PACs, and has repeatedly voted in their favor in Congress. With two allegations of voter suppression under his belt, Lee Zeldin has a history of working to undermine Long Islanders’ access to the ballot. Meanwhile, Nancy Goroff’s reform-focused campaign is a clear contrast to Zeldin’s rampant corruption. She rejects corporate PAC money and is running a grassroots campaign to fight for Long Islanders in Washington. We’ll fight to defeat Lee Zeldin and help Nancy Goroff win this November.”
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.
Congressman Zeldin is Washington corruption at its worst. From putting the needs of his corporate special interest donors ahead of his constituents, to spreading false information to voters and suppressing Long Islanders’ right to vote, to opposing ethics and democratic reforms that would increase transparency and accountability in Washington, Congressman Zeldin has benefited from the corrupt system in which he is now entrenched. Zeldin gives his support on legislation to the highest bidder: he received nearly $50,000 from pharmaceutical and health insurance corporate PACs, and voted to gut the Affordable Care Act and against lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Long Islanders. He received $130,000 from the financial industry, and voted to roll back Dodd-Frank and to loosen regulations that would protect consumers. Zeldin also has a concerning background with voting rights. In both the 2016 and 2018 elections, Congressman Zeldin sent mailers to voters with incorrect information regarding absentee voting. The mailer told voters an incorrect date to turn in their absentee ballots, a date that would be past the deadline required for their vote to be counted. Chalking it up as a mistake, although irresponsible, might have worked the first time, but committing this error two elections in a row led to credible accusations of voter suppression.
Zeldin has furthered Big Money’s bottom line time and again in Congress by opposing campaign finance and voting rights reforms. Zeldin voted against the For the People Act (H.R. 1,) the most sweeping anti-corruption, voting rights, and ethics reform bill in a generation, and the SHIELD Act, which prevents foreign interference in U.S. elections. He also voted against the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) that would protect voters against voter suppression and protect Long Islanders’ right to vote. He put his corporate special interest donors ahead of the people by supporting a Koch-backed bill that protects dark money political donors from having to disclose their names to the IRS. Another term of Lee Zeldin will lead to more dark money, more special interest groups, and more corruption in Washington while Long Islanders are left to fend for themselves.
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 9,100 in NY-01. 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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