Let’s put voters back on the map
Big money politics has put our democracy at risk, pushing regular voters to the sidelines as candidates work to court corporate and wealthy donors. As the 2016 election heats up, we thought you should know which corporate PACs are footing the bill in your state.
Last year, three corporate PACs donated a whopping $7.5 million directly to congressional candidates, dropping checks in virtually every race for the House of Representatives.1 That kind of politics has put our democracy at risk, pushing regular voters to the sidelines as candidates work to court big money interests. As the 2016 election heats up, we thought you should know which corporate PACs are footing the bill in your state.
*Due to the small number of congressional races in North Dakota and Vermont, several corporate donors contributed equal amounts in these states. See the State-by-State Table for details.
The Corporate PAC Map shows which corporate PACs make the most direct contributions to congressional candidates state-by-state. Keep in mind, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United made it legal for corporations to take unlimited funds directly from their treasury for political spending. Channeled through outside groups, those contributions often go undisclosed.
While we can’t get the numbers behind secret corporate money, our map analyzes direct contributions to congressional candidates to take a look at what we do know. Here’s what we found out:
1. Businesses with the largest corporate PACs also happen to be some of the worst tax dodgers in the United States.
Honeywell International, an American multinational conglomerate, provides one of the best examples. Between 2009 and 2012, the company got $1.7 billion in tax breaks, paying an effective tax rate of one percent despite earning over $5 billion in profits. Last year, they had the biggest spending corporate PAC in 10 states across the country.2
Or take FedEx, a company that made $5.7 billion in profits between 2010 and 2012 and didn’t pay a dime in federal income taxes. Our analysis found that FedEx gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to congressional races, which is certainly more than they gave to the IRS.3
2. Corporations with high-dollar PACs also have high-dollar defense contracts.
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Honeywell, Boeing, and Bae Systems — the list goes on. In more than a third of all states, the highest spending corporate PAC represented a defense contractor.
3. We can do something about it.
Let’s be honest, a company like New York Life shouldn’t be deciding who South Dakota voters elect. And when corporations like Walmart and Lockheed Martin step into a race, they aren’t there to raise the concerns of everyday Americans.
That’s not how elections are supposed to work, which is why we’re sending a petition to Congress, urging House leadership to bring the Democracy for All Amendment to the floor. That’s a constitutional amendment that would make it clear that corporations are not people, giving lawmakers an opportunity to reign in corporate political spending. More than 130 Members of Congress have cosponsored the amendment, but Speaker Boehner has yet to bring it up for a vote.
We need action now. Tell Speaker Boehner we want a vote on the Democracy for All Amendment.
To find out more about which corporation donated the most in your state, check out the State-by-State table below. You can also help to spread the word by sharing our map on Facebook and Twitter.
State-by-State: Highest Spending Corporate PACs
State |
Contributor |
|
State |
Contributor |
AK |
HOME DEPOT |
|
ND* |
MICROSOFT |
AL |
ALABAMA POWER CO |
|
ND* |
NORTHROP GRUMMAN |
AR |
WAL-MART |
|
ND* |
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR |
AZ |
PINNACLE WEST |
|
ND* |
NORTH AMERICAN COAL |
CA |
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR |
|
ND* |
WPX ENERGY |
CO |
LOCKHEED MARTIN |
|
NE |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
CT |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
|
NH |
BAE SYSTEMS |
DE |
CLEAR CHANNEL |
|
NJ |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
FL |
AT&T |
|
NM |
ERNST & YOUNG |
GA |
AMERICAN FAMILY & LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY |
|
NV |
BARRICK GOLD CORP |
HI |
HILTON WORLDWIDE |
|
NY |
NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE |
IA |
AT&T |
|
OH |
MARATHON OIL |
ID |
POTLATCH CORP |
|
OK |
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY |
IL |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
|
OR |
NIKE |
IN |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
|
PA |
COMCAST |
KS |
KOCH INDUSTRIES |
|
RI |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
KY |
MARATHON OIL |
|
SC |
SCANA CORP |
LA |
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR |
|
SD |
NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE |
MA |
RAYTHEON |
|
TN |
FEDERAL EXPRESS |
MD |
NORTHROP GRUMMAN |
|
TX |
LOCKHEED MARTIN |
ME |
UNUM GROUP |
|
UT |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
MI |
DTE ENERGY |
|
VA |
DOMINION |
MN |
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR |
|
VT* |
HOME DEPOT |
MO |
AMEREN CORP |
|
VT* |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
MS |
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR |
|
VT* |
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES |
MT |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
|
VT* |
AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR |
NC |
HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL |
|
VT* |
TW TELECOM |
ND* |
EXXONMOBIL |
|
WA |
BOEING CO |
ND* |
HOME DEPOT |
|
WI |
NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE |
ND* |
KOCH INDUSTRIES |
|
WV |
KOCH INDUSTRIES |
|
|
|
WY |
ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES |
*Due to the small number of congressional races in North Dakota and Vermont, several corporate donors contributed equal amounts in these states, each making donations of the maximum legal size in all available elections.
1 National Institute on Money in State Politics. Follow the Money. http://www.followthemoney.org. Copyright 2013.
2 Americans for Tax Fairness. Corporate Tax Dodgers 2013 Report. http://www.americansfortaxfairness.org/files/Corporate-Tax-Dodgers-Repor….
3 Americans for Tax Fairness. Corporate Tax Dodgers 2013 Report. http://www.americansfortaxfairness.org/files/Corporate-Tax-Dodgers-Repor….
Source: All data used to create the Corporate PAC Map was sourced from the National Institute on Money in State Politics through the organization’s Follow the Money tool, available at www.followthemoney.org.