Recently, Sen. Mark Warner was endorsed for reelection by three major, progressive groups: End Citizens United, Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC).
- According to NOW, their endorsement of Sen. Warner was due to his “dedication to feminist issues.”
- Planned Parenthood emphasized “the existential urgency of taking back the U.S. Senate — because, as you know, from abortion access to funding reproductive health programs to judicial nominations, the Senate makes critical decisions that directly impact Planned Parenthood health center patients every day.” Planned Parenthood also noted that “the Senate has confirmed 187 federal judges, many of whom clearly oppose the constitutional right to safe, legal abortion.”
- End Citizens United’s endorsement (see below) argues – correctly – that “[f]or the past decade, our democracy has been undermined by Citizens United,” and that we need leaders “committed to fighting against the disastrous Citizens United decision and passing critical anti-corruption legislation to remove the stranglehold of special interests over government.”
Clearly, these are all excellent reasons to reelect Sen. Warner. But, you might ask, why should you worry about this race, given all the other political priorities facing us in 2020? I’d argue that there are several important reasons to care. First, just as with Sen. Tim Kaine in 2018, our goal should be a massive reelection margin for Sen. Warner in order to send a clear, resounding message that we reject the Trump Republican Party and everything it stands for. Second, by helping to reelect Sen. Warner by a huge margin, we can help guarantee that Virginia goes for the Democratic presidential nominee against Trump. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the better Sen. Warner does in November, the better our Democratic “downballot” candidates – including potentially vulnerable, first-term incumbents like Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) and Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA02), plus potential pickups in tough, but possibly competitive, districts like VA01 and VA05 – should do as well. And finally, Sen. Warner has been doing a great job for Virginia and for the country, really pushing back hard against the Trump administration’s disrespect for the rule of law, working to safeguard our elections against foreign (e.g., Russian) interference, and also leading on important issues like the social media “wild, wild West” and the “gig economy”/”rethinking worker benefits for an economy in flux.”
For all those reasons, I’d argue for a *strong* effort at not just reelecting Sen. Warner, but doing so by as large a margin as possible in November!
********************
End Citizens United Endorses 37 Candidates 10 Years After Citizens United Decision
37 candidates are committed to rooting out government corruption and strengthening our democracy by overturning Citizens United and passing the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 949)
ECU has endorsed a total of 122 candidates for the 2020 election cycle
Nearly $4.5 billion has been spent in federal elections from outside groups since Citizens United
End Citizens United (ECU) today endorsed 37 reform-focused candidates for U.S House and Senate races across the country. The endorsements, which include both incumbent and challenger candidates, coincide with the ten year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision.
“For the past decade, our democracy has been undermined by Citizens United,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “We need to change how Washington works and that starts with electing leaders who represent the interests of the American people. These candidates are committed to fighting against the disastrous Citizens United decision and passing critical anti-corruption legislation to remove the stranglehold of special interests over government. End Citizens United is proud to endorse these candidates a decade after the Citizens United decision, and we look forward to helping them win to restore our democracy.”
The list of endorsed incumbent candidates includes: Sen. Cory Booker (NJ-Sen), Sen. Chris Coons (DE-Sen), Sen. Dick Durbin (IL-Sen), Sen. Jack Reed (RI-Sen), Sen. Mark Warner (VA-Sen), Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Rep. Anthony Brown (MD-04), Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Katherine Clark (MA-05), Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC-06), Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-22), Rep. Eliot Engel (NY-16), Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Rep. Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09), and Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-10).
The list of endorsed challenger candidates includes: Al Gross (AK-Sen), James Mackler (TN-Sen), Phil Arballo (CA-22), Adair Boroughs (SC-02), Chris Bubser (CA-08), Margaret Good (FL-16), Nancy Goroff (NY-01), Kristy Gnibus (PA-16), and Julie Oliver (TX-25).
Since the 2010 Supreme Court decision of Citizens United, nearly $4.5 billion has been spent in federal elections by outside groups. In the 2018 midterms alone, $176 million was funneled from dark money groups to super PACs. Eighty-six percent of all outside spending since 1990 came after Citizens United. As a result of Citizens United, races where outside spending topped candidate spending increased eight times what it was before 2010.
A new bipartisan poll shows that a majority of voters see corruption in the political system as the most serious problem facing the country, especially among independents. The poll also finds that unlimited, undisclosed political contributions and the influence of big money in politics are seen as major problems.
ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington D.C. so government works for all Americans. The reform group has four million members nationwide and is entirely grassroots-funded with an average donation of just $14.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
