Top 2020 Democrats target Amazon while spending big money on it: report

Two of the top candidates vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have been among the largest spenders on Amazon while also being the most vocal critics of the tech giant.

The campaigns for the pair of progressive heavyweights have spent nearly $400,000 combined on the online store, according to a Bloomberg News report published Tuesday.

Federal campaign records reviewed by the news outlet revealed the Sanders campaign spent $233,348.51 on Amazon while Warren was the second-largest spender at $151,240.90. 

The expenditures were mostly for office supplies, Bloomberg reports. 

Sanders has targeted the online retailer for a number of issues, including reports of unfair working conditions.

In July he tweeted support of Amazon warehouse workers’ plan to strike on the retailer’s “Prime Day” sale.

“I stand in solidarity with the courageous Amazon workers engaging in a work stoppage against unconscionable working conditions in their warehouses. It is not too much to ask that a company owned by the wealthiest person in the world treat its workers with dignity and respect,” he tweeted at the time. 

Warren has made one focus of her campaign her proposal to break up big tech companies including Amazon, Facebook and Google.

Spokespeople for the Sanders and Warren campaigns were not immediately available for comment. 

Sanders and Warren are not the only Democrats running for president who have criticized the company. Most in the race have expressed concern over the online retailer — and have also spent tens of thousands on the website, according to Bloomberg News.  

Bloomberg reports Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) spent $58,572.90, former Vice President Joe Biden spent $33,715.96, Andrew Yang spent $31,756.31, Tom Steyer spent $30,766.01, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) spent $12,639.52 and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) spent $4,036.19. 

President Trump’s campaign also spent $37,180.73 on Amazon, according to Bloomberg News. The president has been a frequent critic of the company as well due to founder and CEO Jeff Bezos also owning The Washington Post.

The Bloomberg report did not analyze the spending of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder of the company, as he has not yet filed campaign expenses since he entered the race last month.