Washington, DC –– End Citizens United (ECU) today named Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA-50) to the Big Money 20, the group’s top targets to defeat in 2020. ECU’s Big Money 20 campaign is focused on defeating incumbents who benefit most from the corrupt establishment in Washington by showing voters how politicians like Rep. Hunter put corporate special interest donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent.
“Duncan Hunter is one of the most corrupt members of Congress and it’s finally catching up with him,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “While Hunter has been indicted for using campaign funds for personal expenses, like funding vacations, buying a flight for his pet rabbit, and financing his extramarital affairs with multiple women, the needs of California families have been ignored. End Citizens United will work tirelessly to unseat Hunter in 2020 to give the people of California’s 50th Congressional District the representation they deserve.”
The Big Money 20 aims to educate voters about incumbents who represent the worst of Washington 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 Big Oil and then put those interests ahead of their constituents.
In August of 2018, Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted for spending more than $250,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses, including a $14,000 for a family trip to Italy, thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing at retail stores, school tuition, theater tickets, 30 shots of tequila at a bachelor party, video games, and a $600 plane ticket for their pet rabbit. Hunter allegedly also used campaign money to take women out for drinks and on Ubers after having engaged in “intimate personal activities” at their homes. Prosecutors said the California congressman frequently lied about or disguised the personal nature of expenses in order to avoid scrutiny, often stating they were campaign-related or claiming the purchases for charity. Using campaign money for personal expenses is against the law.
In the 2018 cycle, End Citizens United helped defeat 82% of the Big Money 20 targets. ECU will connect its more than 550,000 members to endorsed candidates who are challenging Big Money 20 targets. For the 2020 cycle, ECU has endorsed Ammar Campa-Najjar for Congress in California’s 50th Congressional District.
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 8,200 in California’s 50th Congressional District. ECU raised $44 million in the 2018 last cycle and helped elect over 150 members to the 116th Congress, including two new U.S. Senators and 58 new U.S. Representatives. The reform group 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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