The “Reformers at Risk” list is End Citizens United’s political program for top-priority House candidates for re-election in the 2020 election cycle. This program aims to provide top-tier candidates with organizational, fundraising, and strategic support to ensure they are re-elected in 2020. ECU invested over $9 million dollars in the 2018 election cycle to elect this group of candidates. These reformers led the movement to reject corporate PAC money and called for H.R. 1 to be a sweeping campaign finance reform bill. Each of these candidates meets specific criteria laid out by ECU:
- No Corporate PAC Pledge: Every candidate on this list has committed to reject corporate PAC money. These candidates, elected in 2018, are changing the way Washington does business. In January of 2017, only 8 members of Congress pledged to refuse corporate or
all PAC money; today, there are more than 50. These agents of change are restoring voters’ trust in our political institutions and demonstrating that the Democratic Party is focused on working for the people, not special interests. But this commitment comes with a significant fundraising sacrifice. On average, newly elected Democrats on the DCCC’s Frontline Program in 2018 raised $348,000 (10% of overall fundraising) from corporate PACs for their re-election campaigns. ECU is focused on doing all it can to help close this fundraising gap and ensure that these leaders have the resources to win. - Competitive Re-Election: The districts on the Reformers at Risk list are represented by a new member of Congress who won a competitive and expensive race in 2018. These are the candidates we expect to have the most competitive and expensive re-election efforts in 2020.
- Leading on Reform in Congress: This group of Democratic candidates were all endorsed by ECU in the 2018 cycle because they ran strong campaigns that were focused on restoring trust in our democracy and ending corruption in Washington. They pledged to reject corporate PAC money, led a letter to House leadership calling for H.R. 1 to be a democracy reform bill, and committed to making anti-corruption measures a top priority.
Supporters of the Reformers at Risk will be able to show their commitment to reforming our democracy and help re-elect members who are leading these efforts in Washington. Supporters of this program will:
- Directly support candidates who are working to reform the system in Washington and who are in the most competitive races this election cycle.
- Receive access to ECU’s political staff for advice on reform minded-candidates, monthly political memos, and conference calls about these priority campaigns.
- Be invited to meet with ECU leadership and endorsed candidates at events in Washington, DC and across the country.
- Take part in events in early presidential primary states featuring Democratic presidential candidates.
- Help with future engagement with elected officials surrounding legislative priorities that would help to reform our democracy.