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WASHINGTON, DC — A new analysis from government watchdog Accountable.US found Fortune 500 companies and industry trade associations donated over $4.6 million in the second quarter of 2023 to members of Congress that voted against certifying the 2020 election results. Since the violent insurrection on January 6th, 2021, corporate interests have now contributed more than $45 million to the Republican lawmakers who have been dubbed the ‘Sedition Caucus’.

The latest data from the Federal Election Commission also shows that corporate giving to the election objectors in Congress increased by nearly $2 million in Quarter 2 of 2023 compared to Quarter 2 of 2021, the same period of the 2022 and 2024 election cycles respectively. In addition, the last quarter saw sixteen first-time corporate contributors to these lawmakers since the failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol – including Hershey, Albertsons, Best Buy, and Prudential Financial – totaling at least $31,000.

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For a brief period, many big corporations were reluctant to throw money at those in Congress who tried to finish what the insurrectionists started by voting to negate the will of the American people. Not anymore,” said Jeremy Funk, spokesperson for Accountable.US.

“These days, corporations largely act as if the assault on the U.S. Capitol never happened, even awarding big checks to members that continue to fuel dangerous election conspiracy theories. While big businesses often tell their customers and shareholders they embrace democratic ideals, it hasn’t stopped many from trying to buy influence with lawmakers who have openly threatened our democracy.”

Accountble.US’ new analysis follows a vote earlier this month in the Republican-led House Administration Committee to advance their so-called American Confidence In Elections (ACE) Act that is opposed by over 45 civil rights groups and that experts say “caters to election deniers and would disenfranchise voters of color.” During the bill markup, Republican committee members voted unanimously to kill an amendment to the ACE Act that included a simple acknowledgment of reality: “Congress Finds The Following: (1) Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Won The 2020 Presidential Election.” An Accountable.US review of Federal Election Committee (FEC) data found that these election-denying MAGA House members received over $824,000 from corporations and industry trade groups in the 2nd quarter of 2023 alone.

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