Election 2018 | Press Releases

End Citizens United Endorses Dean Phillips for Congress in MN-03

Sep 28, 2017

Phillips rejects all PAC money, while opponent has taken $6.1 million in corporate cash

End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed Dean Phillips for Congress in Minnesota’s 3rd district. A staunch opponent of the Supreme Court’s misguided Citizens United decision, Phillips is making getting money out of politics a key pillar of his campaign and has pledged to reject all PAC money.

“By taking a stand to reject PAC money, Dean Phillips is proving that he’s accountable to the people of Minnesota, not greedy special interests. He’s putting his money where his mouth is,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Dean stands in stark contrast to his opponent, Congressman Erik Paulsen, who’s bought and paid for by special interests and works to protect the rigged system. We look forward to working with Dean to give a voice to those who have been ignored by Paulsen and his Big Money sponsors.”

“I am honored to earn the endorsement of End Citizens United. I believe the corrupting influence of money in politics is a threat to our democracy and a root cause of many of the problems our country faces today. That’s why I will not accept money from PACs, federal lobbyists, or special interest groups in my campaign for Congress in Minnesota’s 3rd District,” said Dean Phillips, candidate for Minnesota’s 3rd district. “I look forward to working with ECU and like-minded Americans of all political perspectives to encourage and accomplish comprehensive campaign finance reform.”

While Dean Phillips has pledged to not accept a dime of PAC money, his opponent Congressman Erik Paulsen has taken nearly $6.1 million from corporate PACs over the course of his career in Congress and fought to increase the role of Big Money in politics. A career politician, Paulsen has repeatedly voted against the DISCLOSE Act, which seeks to increase transparency in election spending. He voted to block a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and supports a bill backed by the mega-donor Koch brothers to keep Minnesota voters in the dark about who’s spending to influence elections.

End Citizens United will connect Philip’s campaign with its 5,700 members in Minnesota’s 3rd congressional district and activate its 360,000 national donors to help ensure he has the resources to win. This cycle, ECU has raised almost $2 million in small-dollar, grassroots donations for its endorsed candidates.

ECU is a grassroots-funded organization dedicated to electing members of Congress who will fight to overturn Citizens United and pass meaningful campaign finance reform that will remove unlimited, undisclosed money from our political system. Founded over two years ago, the group has grown to more than three million members.

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