NextEra, the company that inundated Sen. Kyrsten Sinema with campaign donations for its own gain, has found a new politician to court with cash: Chuck Schumer. The Senate majority leader has received even more from NextEra than fossil fuel favorite Joe Manchin, whose atrocious “Energy Independence and Security Act” will be voted on in the Senate on Tuesday evening. It was a deal struck with Schumer in order to get the Inflation Reduction Act passed, but there’s clearly more to the story, as The New Republic reports.
Over the past year alone, Schumer received $283,200 in campaign donations from NextEra, which is part of a consortium of polluters backing the Mountain Valley Pipeline, including ConEd, which donated to both Manchin and Schumer. Whereas a fossil fuel campaign donation to Manchin is so ubiquitous that the industry ranks in the top 10 propping up the West Virginia lawmaker, donations from the likes of NextEra are relatively new for Schumer.
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According to The New Republic, NextEra ranks as Schumer’s second-largest campaign donor this year—a first in terms of top contributors. A majority of the individuals tied to NextEra have donated $1,000 or more, putting the amount Schumer has received over the past year at three times as much since 2018. Not even Sen. Shelley Capito, who put out her own pipeline permitting bill ahead of Manchin’s bill text—and owns actual NextEra stock—received as much in campaign donations from the company.
The New Republic found that a majority of NextEra campaign contributions are going toward Democratic entities and politicians. Around 61% of the company’s donations by individuals and its own PAC went to Democrats. OpenSecrets found that donations to Democratic senators especially skyrocketed: In 2020, NextEra gave just $2,640. That number jumped to $31,140 in 2022. Regardless of how much NextEra is willing to put up, the Senate vote on the Energy Independence and Security Act is expected to fail.
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