Outside spending overall in the 2020 cycle is over $2 billion, making it the most expensive election cycle since the disastrous 2010 Citizens United decision
Ten years after the disastrous 2010 Supreme Court decision of Citizens United, the 2020 election cycle is set to see more outside spending than any other election cycle. Senate races across the country in particular, including Montana, are on track to be the most expensive in history.
From 2010 to 2018, outside groups poured over $80 million in political ads and other spending into Montana Senate and House races. In the 2020 election cycle alone, Montana has been hit by over $110 million in outside spending, much of it on political ads. In total, since the disastrous 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Montana has seen over $191 million in outside spending.
“In Congress, Senator Steve Daines had the opportunity to require dark money groups to disclose their big donors, but he didn’t. Daines had a chance to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, but he didn’t. He even could have supported the most comprehensive anti-corruption legislation since Watergate, but he didn’t,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Steve Daines has only helped create a corrupt system where corporations and mega-donors can spend unlimited and undisclosed money in elections. Steve Bullock is rejecting corporate PAC money and will fight to put an end to this Wild West era of campaign spending by wealthy political donors and corporations.”
While Senator Steve Daines, who has taken $3.3 million from corporate PACs over the course of his career, has propped up the broken system created by Citizens United, Governor Steve Bullock is fighting to unrig it to put power back into the hands of Montanans. Since the onset of the 2020 cycle, Bullock has run a reform-focused campaign, choosing to reject corporate PAC money and put the needs of Montanans first. As Montana’s Attorney General, Bullock fought Citizens United every step of the way, and as Governor, he passed the DISCLOSE Act, one of the toughest campaign reform laws in the country. Steve Bullock’s anti-corruption messaging is resonating with voters, making the Montana Senate race one of the most competitive in the country.
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