Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said Monday she will no longer accept donations from corporate PACs, the latest in a string of progressive Democrats who have vowed to do so.
Harris told the hosts of “The Breakfast Club” radio show in New York that she was caught off guard when asked recently at a town hall about accepting corporate donations. She said at the time it “depends.”
“So I’ve actually made a decision since I’ve had that conversation that I’m not going to accept corporate PAC checks,” she said Monday.
{mosads}“We’re all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation,” she added.
Harris said the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which allowed corporations to make unlimited political contributions, has resulted in an “outsized influence” on politics.
Harris joins Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in pledging not to accept corporate PAC donations.
Harris is considered a potential candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. She demurred when asked about that possibility on Monday.
“Right now, I’m just focused on what’s in front of me,” she said, adding that she’ll be working to turn out Democratic voters in this year’s midterm elections.