Mark Kelly Breaks Pledge to Voters, Accepts Big Corporate Donations

Corporate PACs “corrupt our democracy to benefit their own bottom lines” and “poison our democracy” according to Mark Kelly’s Senate campaign, but that hasn’t stopped Kelly from raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate executives during the first quarter of 2019.

An analysis by Roll Call shows that Kelly “took $185,000 from contributors listed as CEOs of 64 companies, including Walt Disney, Tumblr and Berkshire Hathaway,” along with roughly $245,000 from donors whose occupations were “owners, founders, presidents, vice presidents, or chief officers.”

There’s no doubt a portion of this money came from a high-dollar fundraiser held at one of Washington D.C.’s most lucrative corporate lobbying firms in March. The high-powered firm “represents major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron; Wall Street banks such as JPMorgan Chase; defense industry giant Lockheed Martin; and the lobby group PhRMA.”

To circumvent his “no corporate PAC” pledge, the invite specifically asked for executives to pay in personal checks, allowing the campaign to avoid disclosing contributions from drugmakers, banks, or any other clients associated with the firm.

Kelly has made refusing corporate PAC money a centerpiece of his campaign. But his efforts to dodge fulfilling his promise along with his long history of paid speeches, some of which were for the same corporations he now claims to reject, cast doubt on his own words and pledges.

In March, The Kelly campaign has admitted that he would continue to give paid speeches while running for Senate until his appearances are satisfied.