Press Releases

End Citizens United Names Sen. John Cornyn to “Big Money 20”

Jul 10, 2019

Cornyn has taken over $5.3 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 Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) 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 Sen. Cornyn put corporate special interest donors ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent.

“John Cornyn has come to represent the worst of big money and corporate special interests over his many years in Washington,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “As part of Republican leadership, Cornyn was Mitch McConnell’s top lackey ensuring that the Republican tax bill passed the Senate. This same bill cut taxes for Cornyn’s mega-donors while raising taxes on people who work for a living. End Citizens United and our members will work vigorously to defeat Cornyn in 2020 and bring his time of enjoying the DC high life on the dime of big corporate donors to a close.”

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 then put those interests ahead of their constituents.

John Cornyn has been a long, reliable friend to Washington insiders, raising over $800,000 from lobbyists over the course of his career. In 2014, lobbyists bundled over $1 million to boost Cornyn’s reelection campaign. Cornyn then helped them as part of Republican leadership by passing the Republican tax bill in the Senate, which cut taxes for big corporate donors and raised taxes for the middle class. John Cornyn has also taken over $3.7 million from the financial industry and has consistently taken their side by voting to give big banks a $700 billion bailout, opposing Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform, and stripping consumers of their right to sue when banks deceive them.

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. In the 2020 cycle, ECU has endorsed MJ Hegar for Texas U.S. Senate.

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 153,800 in Texas. 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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