The Headlines: Anti-Corruption Reform Is A National Priority For Democrats

Encouraged by the success of the 2018 cycle, End Citizens United set out to use 2018 as a playbook for races up and down the ballot in 2020. As voters’ anger with Washington’s culture of corruption reaches new heights, and Republicans in Congress caught flat-footed having to defend their policies that enrich their corporate special interest donors, Democratic incumbents and challengers seized on the opportunity to redefine their party. These candidates are running on a message focused on anti-corruption and returning power back to the people.

Over the past two years, End Citizens United/Let America and its four million grassroots members have helped these candidates push the narrative on reform and reimagine the way the Democratic candidates fundraise and campaign. Whether it’s Joe Biden and the Senate challengers in the most competitive races or House freshmen and state-level candidates across the country, anti-corruption reform is a top priority.

The headlines themselves speak to the success of the movement and the growing change within the party to make reforming our broken political system a top priority:

• Roll Call: Democrats Go Into 2019 With Ethics Blazing

• Vox: US House Democrats Unveil Their First Bill Which Addresses Anti-Corruption At The Capitol

• Politico: ‘The New Straw Poll’: 2020 Candidates Race to Build Small-Donor Armies‘

• Urban Milwaukee: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Re-Introduces Expanded Legislation to Slow the Revolving Door Between Wall Street, Corporate America and Washington

• Maryland Matters: Raskin Bill Would Curtain Impact of Citizens United Decision

• KTVZ: Wyden reintroduces bill targeting ‘dark money’ in politics

• NPR Democratic Presidential Candidates Say ‘No’ To Corporate PAC Money

• WGBH: Rep. McGovern Is Latest To Swear Off Corporate PAC Money

• Mother Jones: The One Thing All of the 2020 Democratic Candidates Agree They Hate

• CNN: Democrats are rejecting corporate PACs. Here’s what that means.

• Cincinnati Enquirer: Sherrod Brown joins a growing list of Dems not taking corporate PAC money

• CQ: Some States Look to Address Concerns About Money in Politics

• Politico: House Democrats forge ahead on electoral reform bill

• WBUR: Rep. John Sarbanes On Sweeping Anti-Corruption Legislation, Cohen And More

• The Guardian: Democrats set to pass ethics reform package targeting big money in politics

• Washington Post: House Democrats poised to endorse public financing of congressional campaigns

• The New York Times: House to Vote on Democrats’ Legislative Centerpiece

• The Guardian: ‘Not the billionaires’: why small-dollar donors are Democrats’ new powerhouse

• Roll Call: House passes HR 1 government overhaul, sending it back to campaign trail

• Washington Post: Here’s the Democratic answer to Trump’s corruption and plutocracy

• The Palm Beach Post: Blocking H.R. 1, the GOP seems afraid of democracy

• Roll Call: ‘No PAC money’ pledges leave corporations in a partisan bind

• Vox: Senate Democrats unveiled an anti-corruption companion bill. Mitch McConnell is already blocking it.

• OPB: Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley Has Stopped Taking Corporate PAC Cash

• PBS NewsHour: Can you chip in a dollar? 2020 Democrats race for small donors

• Culpeper Star-Exponent: Spanberger leads campaign-finance, ethics-reform push

• The Hill: Freshman Democrats call on McConnell to hold vote on election reform bill

• The New Yorker: Why Famous, Powerful Presidential Candidates Are Begging You for Five Dollars

• The Washington Post: The Energy 202: Want to address climate change? Fix campaign finance first, 2020 Democrats say.

• Huffington Post: Mitch McConnell Will Be The Boogeyman Of The 2020 Elections

• Politico: Reformers push Dems to adopt sweeping anti-corruption platform in 2020

• Roll Call: End Citizens United names first 12 Republican targets for 2020

• The Hill: End Citizens United calls on DNC to hold anti-corruption debate

• SiriusXM: End Citizens United’s Tiffany Muller on who voters trust to clean up government and get money out of politics

• Politico: Vulnerable Democrats hoard campaign cash for 2020 House battle

• The New York Times: Seven 2020 Democrats Pledge to Focus First Bill on Fighting Corruption

• Iowa Starting Line: End Citizens United to Candidates: Talk About Campaign Finance Reform

• AP: Democrats call for a Senate vote on elections reform package

• The Iowa Starting Line: Poll: Campaign Finance Reform Resonates with All Voters

• Beaver County Times: Lamb’s bill banning foreign online activity in U.S. elections included in larger legislation approved by House

• Roll Call: Some Democrats see political system overhaul as winning 2020 issue

• Vox: Exclusive: 2 Democrats are introducing a bill to ban corporate PACs

• SI Live: Max Rose, Rep. Delgado unveil bill to ban opioid drug manufacturers’ corporate PACs from supporting federal candidates

• Facing South: Southern states take up fight for bold democracy reforms

• HuffPost: Fighting Corruption Is The Most Electable Thing A Democrat Can Do In 2020

• Virginia Mercury: On Va. Democrats’ 2020 to-do list, voting rights seem to top campaign finance reform

• USA Today: Obama was right, Alito was wrong: Citizens United has corrupted American politics

• McClatchy DC: Jason Kander’s voting rights group to merge with anti-Citizens United PAC

• OpenSecrets: Why corporate PACs have an advantage

• Iowa Starting Line: Repairing Democracy Took Center Stage In Iowa Race And Beyond

• USA Today: Democratic anti-corruption bill is a power grab in Congress — for the people

• The Hill: Not up for debate: ending corruption and the power of special interests in Washington

• Charleston City Paper: One year later, it’s time for Mitch McConnell to stop blocking critical anti-corruption and election reform legislation  

• Burlington County Times: Guest Opinion: A year of fighting a broken system

• Westword: Op-Ed: Still Waiting for the Senate to Take On Corruption

• The Hill: Voting rights group pushes steps to protect voters during coronavirus pandemic

• Courier: The ‘No Corporate PAC Money’ Movement Is Growing. It Could Help Democrats Flip the Senate.

• The Washington Post: Democrats should hammer the GOP over vote-by-mail

• The Hill: Democrats, voting rights groups pressure Senate to approve mail-in voting resources

• CNBC: Democratic bill would require dark money judicial groups to reveal donors

• Maine Public Radio: U.S. Rep. Jared Golden Wants To Shed Some Light On Dark Election Money

• NBC: Voting access groups push for election funding in a new pandemic relief bill

• NJ.com: Trump keeps using Paterson, N.J. as proof vote by mail will bring fraud. Not true, critics say.

• CNN: How a Biden win can sink one of McConnell’s top priorities

• NBC News: Broad coalition of progressive groups launches effort to aid with voting protection

• The Atlantic: Say the Democrats Win. Then What?

• Orange County Breeze: Congressman Rouda introduces bill to end foreign election interference via American shell companies

• The Hill: Voting rights campaign asks AGs to crack down on voter intimidation

• Vox: What a Democratic Senate wants

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