Corporate PACs Donated $174 Million to Lawmakers Who Attempted to Overturn 2020 Election

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) reported in August 2025 that over 2,000 corporate and industry group PACs have donated more than $174 million to members of the ‘Sedition Caucus’—the 147 lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election, plus Donald Trump and new members of Congress who ran on the Big Lie that Trump won. Koch Industries led corporate donors with $2.21 million to 113 seditionist lawmakers, followed by American Crystal Sugar ($1.51 million to 117 lawmakers) and AT&T ($1.5 million to 133 lawmakers).

Context: These donations represent a near-complete abandonment of post-January 6 corporate pledges to suspend support for election objectors. Six additional election deniers were elected to Congress since the previous reporting period. The report documents how corporate donations to lawmakers with the most apparent hostility to fundamental democratic principles have increased over the past few years, despite public promises to defend democracy.

Significance: Corporate America’s systematic financing of lawmakers who attempted to overturn a democratic election demonstrates that public corporate pledges to defend democracy were performative theater. This pay-to-play system allows corporations to bankroll authoritarianism while maintaining public facades of supporting democratic norms, revealing how economic elites prioritize access to power and favorable policy over preserving democratic institutions. The financial support enables anti-democratic forces to maintain congressional power and continue undermining electoral integrity.