Corporate America is reassessing its campaign spending in the wake of a rally-turned-riot at the U.S. Capitol last week by supporters of President Donald Trump that left five people — including a Capitol police officer — dead.
The New York Times and Popular Information reported that several major corporations — including Morgan Stanley, Marriott, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mastercard, Citibank, and Dow, among others — have suspended all political action committee contributions to the 147 members of Congress who objected to the certification of the Electoral College results electing Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States.
Meanwhile, Kansas City, Missouri-based Hallmark has requested the return of campaign contributions to Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) following their votes against certification, the Times reported.
Within the beer industry, the two largest beer manufacturers in the U.S. told Brewbound that they will review their spending.
Molson Coors has decided to temporarily halt its political action committee contributions to all federal candidates for three months, Adam Collins, chief communications and corporate affairs officer told Brewbound.
“While Molson Coors has never endorsed any candidate for president, we have long supported other federal candidates of both parties through our PAC using a set of criteria that focus on business issues for Molson Coors,” he said in a statement. “We have already made the decision to pause all PAC contributions to any federal candidates for three months. We’ll use that time to assess the political landscape, the parameters around any donations and how we share information with our employees.”
Total money from Molson Coors to Republican federal candidates has historically outpaced those to Democrats, in every cycle dating back to the 1990s, according to OpenSecrets.org. Those contributions spiked in 2016 ($543,250 vs. $152,570 to Democrats) and continued to far outpace contributions to Democrats in 2018 ($350,910 vs. $81,120) and 2020 ($323,670 vs. $102,880).
In 2020, those contributions break down into $325,137 from individuals and $102,000 from its political action committee (PAC).
Among the donations from Molson Coors over the last two years were contributions to Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who objected to certification; and Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who initially objected and then backed off after the insurrection attempt.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer manufacturer, via a spokesperson, said it would review its donations but offered little insight into the process.
“As we do every year, we review our donations to candidates for public office to ensure we are supporting those whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation, and industry growth,” the spokesperson told Brewbound.
Although A-B’s federal contributions have been split between Republicans and Democrats, the company has primarily given to Republicans since the 2012 cycle, with spending spiking in 2016 and 2018, giving GOP candidates $1.7 million in each of those years, according to OpenSecrets.org. In 2020, $701,548 flowed through PACs, while $635,819 came from individuals, the site reported. Among the recipients were the PACs of Hawley, Cruz and Daines.
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, D.C., said it would “pause and reflect” on its support of certain political candidates following the siege at the U.S. Capitol building.
“All Americans are outraged and saddened by what we saw at the Capitol last week and by the behavior of some of our elected leaders,” the organization said in a statement provided to Brewbound. “NBWA’s PAC supports Congressional candidates and elected officials on both sides of the aisle who understand the issues affecting Main Street businesses. This week’s actions require that we all pause and reflect on that support. NBWA congratulates President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris and looks forward to working with the new administration and Congress in the coming years.”
The NBWA’s contributions to Democrats have only surpassed those to Republicans in four 2-year periods since 1990 — the last one in 2010 before the 2020 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org. In 2020, the trade group gave $1.98 million total to Democrats and $1.8 million to Republicans, with $3.765 million flowing through the PAC and $23,575 coming from individuals. Total contributions to Republicans between 2012 and 2018 topped $2.2 million in each 2-year period.
Among those the NBWA donated to were Sens. Lummis, Roger Marshall and Cindy Hyde-Smith and the PACs of Hawley, Cruz, Johnson, John Kennedy and Marsha Blackburn (who backed off from voting to delay certification of the electoral vote count following the attack), according to OpenSecrets.org.
The Brewers Association (BA), which represents small and independent U.S. craft breweries, said it has suspended campaign giving and will review its contribution criteria.
“Until recently, the Brewers Association Political Action Committee (PAC) had a policy of contributing to policymakers regardless of political affiliation who understand and champion small and independent breweries,” the BA wrote in a statement to Brewbound. “The purpose of the Brewers Association PAC has always been to support legislators that represent our values and goals. Based on recent events in Washington, D.C., we believe that these criteria need to be reexamined. We will be internally reviewing our contribution criteria and working with our Government Affairs and PAC Committees to ensure that our money is going to people who uphold the values of our community and our country. Until that time, we will be suspending all PAC contributions. The Brewers Association has not made any political contributions in 2021.”
In the BA’s PAC’s first major cycle, the PAC gave $37,820 to Democrats and $28,000 to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.org. The BA’s PAC gave $54,000, while $11,832 came from individuals in 2020.
Spending from national trade group the Beer Institute, has fluctuated between Democrats and Republicans in recent years. In the 2020 cycle, the BI gave $29,500 to Republicans and $22,730 to Democrats, of which, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The BI donated to Daines in 2020.
“The Beer Institute’s BEERPAC donates on a case-by-case basis to a bipartisan range of members of Congress,” a BI spokesperson told Brewbound. “BEERPAC will be suspending all political donations in the near term to review its future donations.”