• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Big Picture>
  3. big picture>

7 candidates pledge to make democracy reform their first push as president

Our Staff
July 29, 2019
Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg

Mayor Pete Buttigieg headlines a list of seven presidential contenders who have pledged to make fixing the political system their first legislative priority if they win the White House.

Getty Images

This story has been revised after additional reporting.

Seven of the 20 presidential candidates debating this week, but only two of the group polling in the top tier, have vowed to make revamping the political system and boosting government ethics their first legislative priority if elected president.

The seven made that commitment by signing the "Reform First" pledge drafted by End Citizens United, an advocacy group that is mainly interested in shrinking big money's sway over campaigns and governing. It announced the signatories on Monday.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is currently third in the average of surveys of Democratic voters, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., who ranks fifth, have signed the pledge. He turns out to be the only candidate who is unambiguously in favor of 17 of the most prominent proposals for fixing the political system, according to a comprehensive review by The Fulcrum of all the candidates' stances. Many of those proposals are the sorts of things End Citizens United wants to see in legislation moving in 2021.

But Warren and her Senate colleague Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who also signed the vow, are only a small notch behind Buttigieg in their fealty to the top items on the democracy reformer agenda. Both back 16 proposals unequivocally and say they're open to remaking the Supreme Court, without being solidly on board any specific plan.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The other signatories are Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas. All of them are polling at an average of 2 percent or less.


The pledge was sent to all presidential candidates asking them to make "comprehensive anti-corruption, money-in-politics, and voting rights reform legislation that is similar to or builds upon the For the People Act, the very first bill you send to Congress." The For the People Act, also known as HR 1, is the the sweeping campaign finance, election administration and ethics overhaul passed on a party-line vote by the House in March but shelved indefinitely by the Senate GOP leadership.

End Citizens United said it plans to encourage voters to make contributions to the seven candidates as well as promote their campaigns on social media. While that's not the same as an endorsement, the help with money and exposure could provide the praised candidates with an important boost.

The organization has quickly become a power player behind Democratic causes. It spent more than $12 million supporting Democrats running for Congress or opposing Republicans on the ballot in 2018, making it one of the largest outside spenders during the midterm campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The group now boasts 4 million members and says more than half a million have been campaign donors.

"Committing to reform first shows the American people you're serious about cleaning up corruption," said Tiffany Muller, president of the organization. "These candidates uniquely understand that reform is the essential first step to accomplishing the progressive change that America needs."

In a statement to End Citizens United, Warren said she planned to rein in corporate special interests that block the will of the people. "The first thing I would do as president is pass my anti-corruption bill to make our economy, government, and democracy work for everyone," she said.

Buttigieg expressed a similar sentiment. "We need bold and deep reforms to fix our broken political system, which is why as President I will make democratic reform my day-one priority," he said in his own statement.

Gillibrand and Klobuchar also flatly support — or say they are open to supporting — each of the 17 leading proposals, which cover campaign finance, voting rights, access to the ballot box, government ethics and changing institutions that include the Supreme Court, the Electoral College and the political gerrymandering system.

"As president, I'll continue taking Washington's corruption and greed head-on by making democracy reform one of my first priorities," Gillibrand said.

Klobuchar said the country needed sweeping anti-corruption and voting rights reform. "As President, it will be the first bill I send to Congress," she said.

Of the 17 proposals, Bennet only opposes changing the makeup of the Supreme Court. "Until we fix our broken politics, we will keep struggling to make progress on the issues Americans care most about — from health care to climate change to gun violence," he said.

O'Rourke hasn't taken a position on presidential candidates releasing their tax returns, but he released his own returns as part of his primary bid. "In order to overcome the greatest challenges we face, we must first fix our democracy and return power to people," he said.

Bullock supports campaign finance reforms but opposes new restrictions on the revolving door. "Taking on the corrupting influence of money in politics is the fight of our time — and it's been the fight of my career," Bullock said.
From Your Site Articles
  • End Citizens United targets a dozen Hill Republicans for campaign ... ›
  • End Citizens United ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Presidential Candidates Pledge To Undo 'Citizens United.' But Can ... ›
  • Over 100 Democrats Want The Next Congress To Prioritize Anti ... ›
  • Seven 2020 Democrats Pledge to Focus First Bill on Fighting ... ›
big picture

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

Debilyn Molineaux
36m

Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Our Staff
49m

Facebookopoly

Seth David Radwell
1h

Does partisanship impact happiness?

Lynn Schmidt
07 February

Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Samantha Close
07 February

It’s the institutional design, stupid! With a parliamentary system, America could avoid gridlock and instability

Milind Thakar
06 February
Videos

Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Our Staff

Video: What does it mean to be Black?

Our Staff

Video: The dignity index

Our Staff

Video: The Supreme Court and originalism

Our Staff

Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

Our Staff

Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Our Staff
49m

Podcast: Why Democrats fail with rural voters

Our Staff
06 February

Podcast: Anti-racism: The pro-human approach

Our Staff
03 February

Podcast: 2024 Senate: Democrats have a lot of defending to do

Our Staff
02 February
Recommended
Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

Big Picture
Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Podcasts
Facebookopoly

Facebookopoly

Big Picture
Does partisanship impact happiness?

Does partisanship impact happiness?

Big Picture
Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Business & Democracy
Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?