Press Releases

End Citizens United Endorses Kathleen Williams for MT-AL

Sep 05, 2019

Williams is rejecting corporate PAC money

A pragmatic leader, Williams will continue to lead Montana in its fight to root out dark money

Washington, DC –– End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed Kathleen Williams for Montana’s at-large congressional district. A pragmatic reformer, Williams is running a grassroots-funded campaign and is refusing corporate PAC money. She supports the For the People Act (H.R. 1), a once-in-a-generation anti-corruption and ethics reform bill in Congress. While Republicans face a chaotic primary, Williams is battle-tested and ready to win in 2020.

“By rejecting corporate PAC money, Kathleen Williams is proving that she’s accountable to Montanans, not corporate special interests,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “During her time in Montana’s legislature, Kathleen proved to be a true reformer by voting to increase transparency in elections and curbing the influence of big money special interests. End Citizens United is proud to endorse Kathleen Williams to represent Montana, and we look forward to helping her win.”

“Montanans deserve leaders who will fight for them and actually get things done – that’s why in Congress I will focus on fixing a broken campaign finance system and cracking down on corruption,” said Kathleen Williams, candidate for Congress in Montana. “Montanans know all too well what big, special-interest money does to our political system. That’s why I’m not taking a dime of corporate PAC money, and in Congress, I’ll support reforms aimed at increasing transparency, cracking down on corruption, and ensuring that foreign money can’t influence our elections. I’m proud to have End Citizens United’s endorsement and I look forward to working together to fight for a system more responsive to the people.”

In recent election cycles, ECU has been active and engaged in Montana, which has a proud tradition of supporting good government and clean, transparent elections. During the 2018 election cycle, ECU made the Montana Senate race a priority and endorsed Senator Jon Tester as part of its first round of endorsements. The group had a nearly $2.5 million impact on the Montana Senate race through paid communications and grassroots donations. ECU’s grassroots members made 22,600 contributions, totaling $180,000, directly for Tester’s campaign, with an average contribution of $8.

ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington so government works for all Americans. The reform group has four million members nationwide, including 14,000 in Montana, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14. ECU also spearheaded the movement among candidates to forgo corporate PAC money in their campaigns. In the 116th Congress, nearly 60 members are refusing to take corporate PAC money, which includes 27 members of the House freshman class who flipped their district.

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