Rep. Lujan Took In $300K In PAC Money Before "Pledge" Not To

Above, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan.

 "Money is the mother's milk of politics. If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, take their money and then vote against them, you have no business being up here." - Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh, former California Assembly Speaker.

Several Democrat politicians have taken a "pledge" to not take campaign contributions from corporate political action committees (PACs), but some of them took in plenty of it before taking the "pledge".

This includes Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, who is currently running for a New Mexico U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Udall.

According to Roll Call:

In raising more than $2 million last year, Rep. Cindy Axne didn’t take a dime from any PAC designated as linked to a “corporation” by the Federal Election Commission. Yet her campaign is still stocked with contributions from groups that represent corporate and business interests on Capitol Hill. 

And she’s not alone. The freshman Democrat, who is in a Toss-up race in an Iowa district President Donald Trump carried in 2016, is one of more than 50 sitting lawmakers who have taken a pledge not to accept direct donations from the political action committees of corporations. 

The pledge has led to growing concerns among corporate PAC leaders about what it means for their future. 

Yet a review of contribution records by CQ Roll Call found the political money of business interests — to the tune of $2.6 million last year alone — continued to find a way to most of the lawmakers who have taken the pledge. 

New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Luján, another Democrat seeking a Senate seat, collected about $300,000 in corporate and association PAC money, most of it before he took his pledge.

After taking the pledge, did Lujan return the $300,000 corporate and association PAC money? I doubt it.

To read more, go here.