Hi team,

This month marks 14 years since the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, so I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of what exactly happened with that fateful decision and just how deeply it’s impacted our politics.

Back in 2010, in a case called Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that political contributions of corporations are protected under the First Amendment. That means that a contribution a corporation makes to a political campaign is considered speech—like that of individuals—and that the government has a very limited ability to regulate that speech.

Since the ruling, spending by outside groups in politics has skyrocketed. Campaign spending by corporations and other outside groups went up by nearly 900% between 2008 and 2016. In 2020, total spending was $14.4 billion. That one decision has deeply expanded the influence of wealthy individuals and big corporations—and it has ultimately led to a lot of the dysfunction that so many people hate about politics.

After that decision, like it or not, campaigns cost money. It’s how candidates are able to host events, reach out to voters, and—maybe most importantly—buy ads, which are very expensive but are one of the best ways to get in front of voters. After Citizens United, we have a system where corporations can spend as much as they want to help candidates that support their policy positions — and that money is often enough to win elections.

So what do we do now to stop the flood of special interest money that has completely infiltrated our political system? One thing is to support candidates who refuse to accept it.

I am one of 73 members of Congress who refuses to accept any corporate PAC money. This way, the people of Michigan know that I’m voting my conscience — not in the way that a corporation may want me to, to further their bottom line.

The other thing we need to do is keep control of the Senate. If Supreme Court seats come up in the next few years, it’s imperative we have 50 senators who actively want Citizens United repealed.

It's one of the reasons why I’m running for Senate here in Michigan—to be an advocate for the people of our state and to rebalance our political system in favor of regular people.

But for now, we need to raise a ton of money to defeat our Republican opponents who accept truckloads of corporate PAC money. That’s why we’re in your inbox all the time and why I’m asking you to chip in $3 to our campaign today.

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Thank you,

Elissa

PAID FOR BY ELISSA SLOTKIN FOR MICHIGAN

P.O. Box 4145
East Lansing, MI 48826

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Elissa Slotkin served in the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense. Use of her job titles and photographs during service do not imply endorsement by the Central Intelligence Agency OR the Department of Defense.