Schweikert has taken over $1.1 million from corporate PACs over the course of his political career
The Big Money 20 campaign will focus on defeating incumbents who represent a rigged Washington establishment that puts corporate special interests ahead of voters’ needs
In 2018, 82% of “Big Money 20” targets were defeated
Washington, DC –– End Citizens United (ECU) today named Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-06) to the Big Money 20, the group’s top targets to defeat in 2020. ECU’s Big Money 20 campaign is focused on defeating incumbents who benefit most from the corrupt establishment in Washington by showing voters how politicians like Rep. Schweikert put corporate special interest donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent.
“David Schweikert is surrounded by scandals, but that hasn’t stopped him from pushing his corporate special interest donors’ agenda,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Corruption has run rampant in Scweikert’s Congressional office and now its coming back to haunt him in the form of an ethics investigation. David Schweikert won’t even cooperate in the probe because he’s got too much to hide. The people of Arizona’s 6th Congressional District deserve a representative who will be a transparent leader, not a corrupt shill. End Citizens United and our members will fight vigorously to defeat Schweikert in 2020.”
The Big Money 20 aims to educate voters about incumbents who represent the worst of Washington and rally support for reforming the political system. The members of the Big Money 20 are incumbents who take money from corporate special interests, mega-donors, and industries like Big Pharma and Big Oil and then put those interests ahead of their constituents.
David Schweikert has routinely blurred the lines between his official duties and reelection campaigns, making him the subject of several ethics investigations regarding the misuse of taxpayer funds for personal activities and other violations of the law. In spite of numerous scandals, Schweikert has cashed in corporate checks and worked for those corporations in Congress. While taking over $500,000 from the financial industry, Schweikert voted to gut Wall Street reform, voted to strip consumers of their right to sue when banks deceived them, voted to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and voted to put the needs of big banks over consumers. David Schweikert also supported the Republican tax plan, which cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy while raising them on the middle class.
In the 2018 cycle, End Citizens United helped defeat 82% of the Big Money 20 targets. ECU will connect its more than 550,000 members to endorsed candidates who are challenging Big Money 20 targets.
ECU has conducted extensive polling and research showing that voters across the political spectrum support getting big money out of politics. ECU is a traditional political action committee (PAC) with more than four million members, including 11,000 in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. ECU raised $44 million in the 2018 last cycle and helped elect over 150 members to the 116th Congress, including two new U.S. Senators and 58 new U.S. Representatives. The reform group is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.
For a full list and additional background on the Big Money 20, click here.
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