Rep. Horn Accused Of Breaking Campaign Promise, Taking Corporate PAC Money

Oklahoma’s sole Democrat in Congress, Rep. Kendra Horn, is being criticized by the Republican Party’s congressional campaign arm accusing the Oklahoma City Congresswoman of breaking a 2018 campaign promise about campaign donations.

In a release late last week, National Republican Congressional Committee said Horn broke a promise not to accept money from corporate political action committees. As defined by federal standards, corporate PACs take money from employees of a company and give that money to a candidate on behalf of that company. The NRCC claims Horn has accepted nearly $100,000 in corporate PAC money.

"Kendra Horn lied to get elected and is a shameless hypocrite," NRCC Spokesperson Bob Salera wrote.

According to FEC filings, Horn has taken closer to $20,000 in contributions from groups with connections to corporations and industries like wind energy, propane gas, alcohol wholesalers and hospitals.

Horn did accept a $5,000 donation from the American Crystal Sugar Company, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The ACSC is not an association nor a group, but a single company according to its website. Its PAC is not however considered as a corporate PAC, instead considered as a lobbyist PAC with the FEC.

Horn's campaign said they still haven't taken any money from corporate PACs as defined by the FEC.

The group End Citizens United, which is behind the anti-corporate PAC pledge, defended Horn.

"This partisan attack on Kendra Horn is a lie,” the group’s president Tiffany Muller said in a statement. “Her pledge to refuse corporate PAC money is what sets her apart from typical politicians in Washington."

Horn has taken an early and sizeable lead over her two Republican challengers in the campaign fundraising race. The Republican primary is June 30th. The general is November 3rd, 2020.