Corporate America donated $36M to election objectors in 2022 election: analysis

Corporate PACs affiliated with Fortune 500 companies and their trade associations donated $36.3 million to lawmakers who voted against certifying President Biden’s victory after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

That’s the total figure for the 2022 election cycle, which began in January 2021, according to an analysis of year-end campaign finance filings by liberal advocacy group Accountable.US. 

Those donations make up a relatively small percentage of the fundraising for the 147 Republicans who objected to the 2020 election results. But they reveal that many companies reversed course on their initial decision to pause donations to these lawmakers following the insurrection.

AT&T was the top company donor to the 147 Republicans in the 2022 election cycle, giving roughly $630,000, according to the analysis. The telecom giant briefly suspended donations to the election objectors in response to the Capitol attack.

It’s followed by Home Depot ($478,000), Lockheed Martin ($440,000), UPS ($411,000) and Boeing ($392,000). Comcast, which previously paused donations to the election objectors to review its “political giving policies and practices,” donated $382,000. 

Corporate donations accelerated when it became clear that Republicans were favored to take the House. Corporations rely on PAC donations, which are mostly funded by company executives, to gain access to elected officials. 

While companies were under intense scrutiny in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, public interest in the issue slowly faded, giving them an opportunity to resume their political giving.

“Workers, customers, and shareholders want to work for, buy from and invest in companies that share their values and democratic ideals. So many corporations risked their reputations to reward millions to MAGA extremists in Congress that obstructed the democratic process even after a violent insurrection,” Accountable.US spokesperson Jeremy Funk said.

Most companies continued to cut off donations to extreme Republicans who frequently spread election lies, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), adopting the view that not all election objectors are created equal.

Of the 147 Republicans, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) received the largest donations from corporate America, bringing in $1.1 million. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) received $1 million, while Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, brought in $794,000.