Press Releases

End Citizens United Endorses Sima Ladjevardian in TX-02

Feb 20, 2020

Ladjevardian is building a grassroots campaign by rejecting corporate PAC money

Committed to making government work better for all Texans, Ladjevardian served as an advisor on Beto O’Rourke’s U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns

End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed Sima Ladjevardian in Texas’ Second Congressional District. Ladjevardian is rejecting corporate PAC money, proving to the Greater Houston area that she’ll be accountable to them in Congress, not corporate special interests.

“As a first-generation immigrant and breast cancer survivor, Sima Ladjevardian is the fighter Texans need in Washington,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Sima has witnessed first-hand the power of a grassroots movement. Now, in her run for Congress, Sima is rejecting corporate PAC money and building her own campaign of small, individual donors to unrig the system in Washington. End Citizens United is proud to endorse Sima Ladjevardian, and we look forward to helping her win.”

“Our campaign is powered by the grassroots and engaging Texans in the process of strengthening our democracy,” said Sima Ladjevardian. “I’m running for Congress to fix our broken campaign finance system and put power back into the hands of the people, not corporations. I’m honored to receive End Citizens United’s endorsement and look forward to working alongside them to root out government corruption.”

Sima Ladjevardian joins a growing movement of reformers in rejecting corporate PAC money. 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. With rapidly growing and diverse populations, Democrats are poised to be competitive in Texas in 2020. This includes Texas’ Second Congressional District, where Beto O’Rourke came within a point of winning in 2018.

bipartisan poll shows that a majority of voters see corruption in the political system as the most serious problem facing the country, especially among independents. The poll also finds that unlimited, undisclosed political contributions and the influence of big money in politics are seen as major problems.

ECU and Let America Vote (LAV) recently merged to combat the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: Big Money and voter suppression. ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington so that the government works for all Americans. LAV is building a grassroots effort to fight back against voter suppression and protect every American’s right to vote.

ECU and LAV will work to end our rigged political system by electing reform champions, passing meaningful legislative reforms, and elevating these issues in the national conversation. ECU has more than four million members nationwide, including 5,200 in Texas’ Second Congressional District, and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14. In 2018, over 1,000 LAV grassroots volunteers knocked on over 340,000 doors, made 112,000 calls, and sent 341,000 texts to help elect 100 pro-democracy leaders.

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