Washington, DC –– End Citizens United (ECU) today named Rep. Ross Spano (FL-15) 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. Spano put corporate special interest donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent.
“Ross Spano was knee deep in corruption before he even took the oath of office,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “His donor friends gave him a ‘loan’ of over $100,000 to fund his campaign that blatantly violated campaign finance laws and one of those same donors had connections to a pro-Spano super PAC. Despite having been in office for less than a year, Spano’s office has been rife with ethics scandals, and he has built a reputation for himself as one of the most corrupt members of Congress. Floridians deserve better, and End Citizens United is determined to see that Ross Spano is defeated 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.
Ross Spano is completely beholden to special interests and has no grassroots support. In the first quarter of 2019, Spano only received one contribution under $200 and it was a $1 test contribution to make sure their donation system worked. After a scandal ridden campaign where he illegally accepted a $180,000 loan from his donors, Spano went right to work doing Wall Street’s bidding by voting to restrict the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the organization that protects Floridians from being taken advantage of by Big Banks.
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 6,100 in Florida’s 15th 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.