Corporate PAC donations to election objectors surpass $12 million

Corporate PACs affiliated with Fortune 500 companies and their trade groups have donated more than $12 million to Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 election results in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by liberal watchdog group Accountable.US.

First-quarter corporate PAC donations to election objectors totaled $3.1 million, down slightly from the fourth quarter of 2021 but up more than 500 percent from the same period last year.

“Corporations that have failed to align their political spending with their stated values supporting democracy should stop misleading the public about what they value far more — amassing political influence,” Accountable.US president Kyle Herrig said in a statement.

Most major corporations announced that they would pause PAC donations to GOP objectors or freeze all political giving following the Capitol attack, but many have since reversed course. 

Those include Home Depot, which vowed to pause all donations after Jan. 6 to “carefully review and reevaluate each of the members who voted to object to the election results before considering further contributions to them.” The company is the top corporate PAC donor to election objectors as of the most recent federal filings, giving a total of $360,000 to 59 such lawmakers. 

Boeing is the second most prolific PAC donor to GOP objectors among Fortune 500 companies, giving a total of $289,000 to 70 lawmakers. The aerospace giant reevaluated its giving criteria following Jan. 6 to “ensure that we support those who not only support our company, but also uphold our country’s most fundamental principles.”

Corporate PACs have largely avoided making donations to lawmakers who took aggressive actions to undermine faith in the 2020 election, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). 

They’ve funneled donations to GOP leaders and committee ranking members who would gain significant power if Republicans take the House in November. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is the No. 1 recipient of corporate PAC donations, bringing in nearly $457,000, followed by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who received $354,000. Both lawmakers voted against certifying 2020 election results.

While the 147 lawmakers who objected to President Biden’s win have brought in millions of dollars from corporate PACs, they’ve collected roughly half as much corporate PAC cash as they did at the same point in previous election cycles, according to a Reuters analysis from last month.