Majority of American Voters Oppose Corporations Donating to Jan. 6 Election Overturners
By Anika Dandekar
On Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol building and threatened lives, 147 Republican members of Congress defied the will of American voters by voting against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. These 147 members — “election overturners” — have since raised over $30 million in corporate campaign donations, with many common household names footing the bill.
Newly released Data for Progress polling, conducted from June 23-27, 2022, shows that once voters learn of corporations’ campaign contributions to election overturners, their favorability ratings drop significantly. A majority of voters oppose corporations donating to the campaigns of election overturners and say they are less likely to buy from them knowing this information.
Corporations Donating to Overturners Suffer Average 40-Point Blow to Net Favorability
We first tested attitudes around nine corporations, representing a variety of industries from transportation to health insurance, that have each donated at least $50,000 directly to the reelection campaigns or leadership PACs of overturners, not including the amounts donated to the Republican Party committees (NRSC and NRCC) that also support these incumbents.
Among likely voters, without any prior context, United Parcel Service (UPS) receives a net favorability rating of +67 points, Cigna receives a net favorability rating of +22 points, Ford receives a net favorability rating of +57 points, AT&T receives a net favorability rating of +37 points, Home Depot receives a net favorability rating of +70 points, Toyota receives a net favorability rating of +67 points, American Airlines receives a net favorability rating of +39 points, Chevron receives a net favorability rating of +31 points, and Anheuser-Busch (which owns Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Michelob Ultra, among other brands) receives a net favorability rating of +36 points.
Among the nine corporations tested, net favorability ratings drop, on average, by 40 percent once voters are informed of their campaign contributions to members of Congress who voted against certifying the presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Among all likely voters:
UPS’ favorability drops by 49 points
Cigna’s favorability drops by 28 points
Ford’s favorability drops by 45 points
AT&T’s favorability drops by 35 points
Home Depot’s favorability drops by 52 points
Toyota’s favorability drops by 54 points
American Airlines’ favorability drops by 37 points
Chevron’s favorability drops by 28 points
Anheuser-Busch’s favorability drops by 35 points
Favorability also decreases across party lines, falling an average of 78 points among Democrats, 33 points among Independents, and 8 points among Republicans when they are made aware of campaign contributions.
A Majority of Voters Are Against Corporations’ Decisions Donate to Election Overturners
Fifty-seven percent of voters oppose corporations making campaign contributions to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election, including 80 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents, and 36 percent of Republicans.
Then, we aimed to test if this information would influence voters' decisions as consumers. A majority of voters (51 percent) say they would be less likely to buy from a corporation that donated to members of Congress who voted to overturn the presidential election results. Seventy-six percent of Democrats, 48 percent of Independents, and 27 percent of Republicans say they would be less likely to purchase goods or services from such a corporation.
Conclusion
Many corporations, including seven of the nine that were tested in this study, initially made public statements promising to stop donating to election overturners after the insurrection. However, corporations quietly resumed funding these members of Congress who voted to throw out legally cast votes in favor of party loyalty. Studies show a fair democracy can be the determinant of a growing economy and a thriving human population (on measures of infant mortality rates, average life expectancy, and wealth inequality), yet corporate leaders do not often seem beholden to the will or welfare of American voters. Given this survey’s findings, CEOs should certainly note: They face an undeniable threat to their bottom lines once consumers are made aware of their funding of fascists.
Anika Dandekar (@AnikaDandekar) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.