NJ Congress Candidate Refuses ‘Dark Money,’ Gets PAC Thumbs-Up

He’s a New Jersey politician who’s pledged not to accept corporate political action committee (PAC) contributions. And for that, he’s gotten a thumbs-up from a PAC that lobbies to "keep special interest money out of politics."

On Thursday, Tom Malinowski, a Democrat challenger for U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance’s seat in New Jersey’s 7th District, announced that he has received an endorsement from campaign finance reform advocates End Citizens United (ECU).

The group typically supports Democrat candidates in key local races, and recently offered enthusiastic support for another 2018 Congressional candidate, Mikie Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy pilot and federal prosecutor who is one of the frontrunners for soon-to-retire Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s seat in the 11th District.

• See related article: Mikie Sherrill vs 'Big Money Politics': PAC Endorses Democrat

“Voters are fed up with the way Washington does business, and they’re demanding reform,” ECU President Tiffany Muller said. “By rejecting corporate PAC money, Tom is taking bold steps to address the problem before he even gets to Congress. He’s showing voters that he’s listening. ECU is proud to endorse his campaign and will work to help elect him to Congress.”

New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District includes all of Hunterdon County, and parts of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union, and Warren counties.

Malinowski said that he’s honored to gain the support of ECU and pledged to help “break the hold of special interest and dark money on our democracy.”

“Corporate financing of our elections is a poison to our democracy that enables our elected leaders to put special interests ahead of the people they are in Congress to represent,” Malinowski said.

“Leonard Lance is heavily dependent on corporations to finance his campaigns,” Malinowski continued. “It’s no wonder he led the charge in Congress to end Net Neutrality, a move that will lead to windfall profits for the telecom industry at the expense of his constituents here in CD7.”

According to Malinowski’s campaign website, he was born in Poland, spent the first few years of his life in a small rural town, and came to America with his mother when he was six, both seeking refuge from communism during the Cold War.

He settled and grew up in New Jersey going to public schools, playing baseball and hockey, and “hoping, like most immigrants, that someday I could give something back to the country that gave me freedom.”

See Malinowski’s full campaign platform here.

WHAT IS CITIZENS UNITED?

According to the ECU, Citizens United v. FEC was a 2010 Supreme Court case that overturned key provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2003.

“The court’s decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, allowed unions and corporations to make unlimited political donations,” the ECU states. “It also held that such unlimited contributions from these groups and from individuals are acceptable because, in the court’s view, they do not inappropriately influence elected officials’ policy decisions.”

“Today, money dominates American politics – and it is clear that Citizens United is responsible,” the ECU charges.

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Main Photo: YouTube / Tom Malinowski