Projecting a commitment to shrinking money's spread across public life is an increasingly unifying force in national Democratic politics this year. First there were the public financing proposals in the new House majority's sweeping political reform package (known as HR 1). Now it seems as though the party's presidential candidates are going to collectively foreswear corporate campaign cash.
Every candidate who has either formally declared or launched an exploratory committee — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Rep. John Delaney and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro — has promised to decline donations from corporate political action committees. It's a symbolically rich statement even if it's not much of a financial sacrifice.
As Politico's Morning Score notes, Hillary Clinton's campaign committee and her joint fundraising committee received a combined $8 million from corporate PACs, labor union PACs and other candidates' committees — 1.4 percent of the $585 million raised by her 2016 campaign.
But Gillibrand, Warren and Castro have gone an important step further, promising to disavow any super PAC that seeks to support them.
U.S. President Donald walks toward reporters while departing the White House on September 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) 
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at a press conference flanked by FBI director Kash Patel following the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on September 12, 2025 in Orem, Utah. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images) 