Des Moines Register: Axne scraps corporate PAC pledge
When Cindy Axne ran for Congress she slammed her opponent for accepting corporate PAC money.
Now, the Des Moines Register reports “U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne has begun accepting donations from corporate political committees after swearing them off in previous campaigns.”
NRCC Comment: “Whether it’s illegal stock trading or taking corporate PAC money after promising not to, it’s clear Cindy Axne can’t be trusted.” – NRCC Spokesman Mike Berg
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US Rep. Cindy Axne accepts corporate PAC donations after previously rejecting them
Brianne Pfannenstiel
Des Moines Register
February 2, 2022
U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne has begun accepting donations from corporate political committees after swearing them off in previous campaigns.
According to her most recent fundraising report, Axne has accepted about $36,000 worth of donations from political action committees, or PACs, representing corporations including Archer Daniels Midland Company and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company. The donations range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Axne reported raising a total of $718,038 during the quarter ending Dec. 31.
“In the face of thousands of individual ads and millions in dark money spending already targeted at her in the past year, Cindy Axne will not let the people of Iowa be lied to or misled about her record of working for commonsense solutions for Iowa families and small businesses,” a spokesperson for Axne’s campaign said in a statement. “She is accepting donations from everyday Americans — whether as individuals or through employee-pooled groups — so she can stay on a level playing field while working to keep someone in Washington who is on Iowa’s side.”
Axne previously was among a group of Democrats who had sworn off corporate PAC donations in an attempt to show they can’t be bought by businesses seeking to influence legislation. Even so, corporate interests have found numerous ways to funnel money to politicians — often through the PACs representing trade associations and professional organizations — without making the kinds of direct donations Democrats had rejected.