Seven Democratic presidential candidates will be picking up support from the group End Citizens United after pledging to support a major government ethics and campaign finance reform bill as the first legislation should they be elected. Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand, Beto O’Rourke, and Steve Bullock have all signed the “Reform First” pledge.
Rather than endorsing a single candidate, End Citizens United will raise money for all seven online and promote them on social media. “Committing to ‘Reform First’ shows the American people you’re serious about cleaning up corruption,” said Tiffany Muller, the president of End Citizens United. “These candidates uniquely understand that reform is the essential first step to accomplishing the progressive change that America needs.”
That is, putting clean government first timewise doesn’t mean other issues are less important. As Gillibrand said in a statement, “If we want to pass progressive legislation like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, common-sense gun violence prevention, and comprehensive immigration reform, we have to start by breaking the chokehold corporate special interests have on Washington.”