A new report in Cleveland.com revealed that JD Vance broke his promise to Ohio voters and is accepting thousands of dollars from corporate PACs. Worse, he’s using the corporate PAC dollars to personally repay himself.
Vance is giving corporate special interests and billionaires every opportunity to buy access and influence with him.
Cleveland.com: Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance makes about face on accepting corporate PAC money
Key Points:
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While running in the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate earlier this year, J.D. Vance flatly said he would not accept any contributions from corporate PACs.
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But a campaign finance report Vance’s campaign filed on Friday shows that Vance, since winning the Republican Senate nomination in May, has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from corporate PACs in the energy, insurance and real-estate industries.
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While on Steve Bannon’s podcast in January, Bannon, a far-right political figure in ex-President Donald Trump’s orbit who has positioned himself as a populist, quizzed Vance on the subject.
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“Not yet. We haven’t taken any yet,” Vance said. He paused briefly before cleaning up his answer by adding: “Sorry. I’m not going to take corporate PAC money.”
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But Friday’s campaign-finance report shows Vance accepted money from at least 11 corporate PACs, including those tied to name-brand companies. Among those that gave $5,000 contributions to Vance’s campaign committee: Continental Resources Inc., an Oklahoma oil-and-gas company; Rock Holdings, a Michigan-based company owned by Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Gilbert; Philips 66, the Houston-based energy company; Marathon Petroleum Company, Nextera Energy, based in Florida and Koch Industries.
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Also giving to Vance’s campaign were PACs for General Dynamics, the military contractor, which gave $1,000, and ExxonMobil, which gave $2,000.
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In addition, Vance’s campaign-finance report shows he took $6,000 from corporate PACs — for First American Financial Corp and Traveler’s Insurance — that specifically designated the money to help Vance pay off campaign debts. Vance’s campaign and its affiliated committees have accumulated $1 million in total debt, $700,000 of which is a personal loan Vance made to help seed his campaign.
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All of the corporate PAC donations have come since after Vance won the Republican primary in May.
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In a statement for this story, Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party, blasted Vance for going back on his word.
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“J.D. Vance all too eagerly broke his promise not to accept corporate PAC money because he can’t find enough Ohioans to support his uninspiring campaign because they know he is a fraud who will do or say anything to get elected,” Beyer said.
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