Press Releases

MT Debate: Steve Daines Has His Head in the Sand and Hands in the Pockets of Corporate Donors

Oct 11, 2020

Steve Bullock rejects corporate PAC money; Steve Daines has accepted over $2 million from corporate PACs 

Governor Steve Bullock took on Senator Steve Daines in the final debate for the Senate race in Montana tonight. Once again, Bullock showed Montanans that unlike Daines, he’s not beholden to mega-donors and corporate PACs.

The contrast between Steve Bullock and Steve Daines is clear: while Senator Daines has time and again put the interests of his corporate PAC donors ahead of Montanans, Steve Bullock is taking his career-long fight against corruption to Washington to ensure our elected officials work for the people, not corporate special interests.

“As Attorney General, Governor, and now candidate for U.S. Senate, Steve Bullock has made corruption reform the fight of his career,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “The differences between these two candidates is stark: Steve Bullock doesn’t accept corporate PAC money and rooted out corruption in Montana, and he’ll do the same in Washington. Steve Daines has advocated for the interests of his corporate PAC donors, especially Big Pharma and Big Oil, while Montanans suffer. We’ll make sure Montanans remember who has had their backs and who has furthered Big Money’s bottom line in Congress.”

Steve Bullock has fought against corruption and the influence of Big Money throughout his career: 

  • As Montana’s Attorney General, Bullock fought the Citizens United Supreme Court decision every step of the way because he knows that unlimited, undisclosed money has no place in our democracy.
  • As Montana’s Governor, Bullock passed the DISCLOSE Act, one of the toughest campaign reform laws in the country that forced public disclosure of campaign spending and shined a light on the use of “dark money” in Montana’s elections.

  • Governor Bullock required all government contractors to disclose expenditures that could influence Montana’s elections.

  • As Governor, Bullock banned the use of foreign money in Montana’s elections.

  • Now, in his run for U.S. Senate, Steve Bullock is rejecting corporate PAC money and has made taking on corruption in Washington a top priority in his campaign.

Steve Daines has only worsened corruption throughout his time in Washington: 

  • Daines has accepted over $2 million from corporate PACs throughout his political career and has defended the corrupt system that allows corporate special interests to drown out the voices of Montanans.

  • As Montana’s public lands are threatened and wildfires blaze across the state, Daines has taken $243,000 from Big Oil and Gas and has repeatedly voted in their favor in Congress, preventing any real progress from being made on the issue of climate change that threatens Montanans’ way of life.

  • Senator Daines voted against lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Montanans, and cashed checks up to $193,000 from Big Pharma. According to AARP, in 2017, 39% of Montana Residents stopped taking prescriptions due to high costs.

  • Instead of voting in the best interest of Montana middle class families, Senator Daines supported the disastrous 2017 GOP tax bill that gave billions of dollars in tax cuts to the corporations and the wealthiest Americans, leaving Montanans behind.

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