Photo Release: ECU and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan Call Out Big Money in Politics at Town Hall
Minneapolis, MN — End Citizens United (ECU), a leading national anti-corruption organization, today hosted a town hall with U.S. Senate candidate and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan about making government work for Minnesotans and tackling the corrosive effect of money in politics.
The conversation between ECU President Tiffany Muller and Lt. Governor Flanagan focused on how to deliver reform amid a system that favors corporations, special interests, and wealthy campaign donors.
Lt. Governor Flanagan is the only major candidate in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race this year who is refusing to take a dime of corporate PAC money. She sets herself apart as a member of Unrig Washington, a program by ECU in which candidates reject corporate PAC money, support a ban on congressional stock trading, and promise to oppose the influence of dark money in politics. As Minnesota prepares for its August primaries, Lt. Governor Flanagan is leaning into her anti-corruption platform and using it to appeal to a powerful grassroots base.
Flanagan, who has centered her campaign around fighting for working families and ending the special treatment of powerful special interests in Washington, earned ECU’s endorsement in February. She echoes the vast majority of voters who are demanding government accountability and the removal of Big Money from the political system.
“Minnesotans made one thing clear at today's town hall, they are ready for a leader who actually fights for them, and Peggy Flanagan is that leader,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Peggy Flanagan is a rare public servant who understands the challenges facing working families and backs up her promise to champion a fairer economy by rejecting corporate PAC money. In an era when Senate races cost hundreds of millions of dollars, she is betting on Minnesotans rather than wealthy donors and building a campaign that puts everyday people first. I’m grateful to Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for her commitment to accountability and for a great conversation today about how to put everyday people first.”
“As dark money groups spend millions trying to defeat our grassroots campaign, I’m grateful to End Citizens United for coming to Minnesota to send a loud and clear message: we have to get big money out of our politics,” said Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. “Billionaires, corporations, and special interests may have more dollars on their side, but we have the people. Minnesotans have shown that organized people can beat organized money, and we’re going to do it again.”
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For 10 Years, End Citizens United (ECU) has been dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money in politics and attempts to block access to the ballot box. Since its founding in 2015, ECU has had over 1.4 million donors with an average donation of just $14. The group has more than four million members nationwide and is one of the nation’s leading anti-corruption organizations.