The source of campaign contributions is a trustworthy indicator of who will truly represent residents of the 3rd Congressional District: incumbent Erik Paulsen or his challenger Dean Phillips.
Paulsen currently occupies the eye-popping rank of No. 4 among reps who have accepted the most PAC money. That’s right — of 435 U.S. House reps, only three take more outside money than Erik Paulsen. He’s raked in over $2.6 million from political action committees. PACs are funded primarily by corporations and billionaires outside our district, and exist for one reason only: to influence elections and legislation.
Dean Phillips? Zero PAC money. Sixty-seven thousand individual contributors, donating an average of $33 each, have provided 100 percent of his campaign funds. And that’s who Phillips will listen to before casting votes in Congress: his constituents. The lion’s share of Paulsen’s votes, on the other hand, reflect the interests of the outside parties that pour money into his campaign coffers.
(Side note: Erik actually sits in FIRST place for taking money from politically conservative PACs. Combine that with his votes — 98 percent of which support President Trump’s agenda — and it’s plain that Paulsen is a far cry from the moderate politician his commercials and campaign literature try to make him out to be.)
On Nov. 6, my family and I will vote for Dean Phillips, who has proven by refusing to accept outside money that he’ll represent us and our neighbors.
Martha McNey, Excelsior
Lakeshore Weekly News, November 2, 2018