Mark Kelly Swears Off Corporate PAC Money, But Exploits Loopholes to Receive it Anyway

Mark Kelly talks a big game, but he doesn’t back it up. The Washington Free Beacon revealed that Kelly accepted more than $55,000 from democratic leadership PACs, which are largely funded by the same corporate interests Kelly has sworn off. 

Washington Free Beacon: “While Kelly isn’t directly taking money from corporate PACs, his campaign is still benefiting from a loophole by which leadership PACs serve as a pass-through for corporate cash. The retired astronaut received over a dozen donations in September from leadership PACs, including the Country Roads and Blue Hen PACs. The donations ranged from $2,500 to $5,000.

“Blue Hen PAC, which is affiliated with Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), has made three $2,500 donations to Kelly’s campaign in 2019. Two of the donations were made on Sept. 30, and the other came during the second quarter. The leadership PAC received multiple $5,000 donations from the corporate PACs of Bank of America, Google, Microsoft, Comcast, and AT&T for the 2020 election cycle.

“Kelly’s campaign also received two $2,500 donations from Country Roads PAC, which is affiliated with Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.). One of the donations was received on Sept. 30, and the other came during the second quarter. Some of the corporate PACs that donated to Manchin’s PAC were Altria, Comcast, General Motors, and Northrop Grumman.”

Kelly has accepted over $140,000 from leadership PACs in total since entering the race against Republican Martha McSally. 

Kelly’s most obvious hypocrisy related to corporate money stems from “rejecting” corporate PAC money while also accepting money from corporations for speaking fees. This includes speaking events that he did while officially a candidate for the Senate. 

Kelly raked in over $1.8 million in the past twenty-one months according to an analysis by the Washington Free Beacon. Back in March of this year, potential primary challenger Ruben Gallego, who was recruited by progressives, criticized Kelly for swearing off corporate donations despite receiving money from corporations in his personal account for speaking engagements.

Gallego: “It’s kind of weird, though, to say you’re not taking corporate PAC money, but then also directly taking corporate PAC money into your personal account,” Gallego said. “I don’t understand why [you would] even take that pledge if you’re not personally living that.”