The 2020 Democratic Primary has yet to have officially started – but plenty of candidates have already announced presidential campaigns in an effort to make their way to the White House.
Campaign finance and the role of corporations has became a growing topic in the Democratic Party – specifically with candidates promising to refuse any form of corporate donations or support.
However, many of these candidates who now pledge to refuse any form of corporate or possibly-biased funding have a deep history with said support. Be it ties to big business, corrupt individuals, or massive Super PACs – not all Democrats who are pledging to fight against corporate money in politics have shown loyalty to the effort in their careers.
Still in 2019, some candidates are showing signs of rather shady donation practices – even after making campaign messages saying they will work against corporate money and corruption in politics.
Note: The companies which will be detailed did not make direct donations to the candidates. That is not legally allowed. However – these corporations can bypass these laws by sending smaller donations through the corporation’s employees, executives, family members, and PACs. In the eyes of the law, this appears to be a form of irony – but it is a dark, purposeful practice.
California Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Wells Fargo – $19,263.00
Apple – $17,056.00
Microsoft – $15,586.00
Facebook – $12,382.00
Kamala’s group of corporate donors is a collection of Wells Fargo – an incredibly controversial banking corporation; and the Silicon Valley triage of Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.
Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)
Strategic Growth Bank – $17,302.00
Sanchez Energy – $16,800.00
Cisco Systems – $16,439.00
Beto O’Rourke, a Texan through-and-through, tellingly; has tens of thousands of dollars from banking, energy, and technology groups.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Heartland Realty Investors – $22,400.00
Best Buy – $16,000.00
Goldman Sachs – $11,200.00
Klobuchar’s corporate donors are quite diverse – going into the fields of real estate, retail, and banking; with the ever-controversial Goldman Sachs, who played a notable role in damaging the reputation of 2016 Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Sullivan & Cromwell – $46,780.00
McManimon, Scotland & Baumann – $24,800.00
Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett – $22,850.00
Decotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole – $19,600.00
The New Jersey Senator with strong ties to the pharmaceutical industry has a massive collection of donations from the legal sector. Unfortunately for Booker, these legal groups do not have a clean past.
Sullivan & Cromwell helped to support a coup d’etat in the nation of Guatemala. McManimon, Scotland & Baumann are a legal group for real estate development in the State of New Jersey. Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett have employed layers who went on to work for Goldman Sachs, Apple, and The Blackstone Group. And lastly, Decotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole has previously given money to former Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie (R-NJ), former U.S. President George Bush (R-TX), and their top recipient – New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2017.
Great people to affiliate your “grassroots” campaigns with.
Sources – OpenSecrets.org, OurHiddenHistory.org
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