Major NC companies financed GOP for years. Things could change after Capitol riot.

After years of sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of conservative Republican candidates, some of North Carolina’s largest corporations are reconsidering the practice after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, encouraged by President Donald Trump and some of his supporters in Congress.

The storming of the Capitol was apparently a breaking point for many corporations. For years, most of corporate America benefited from the low-tax, low-regulation policies that conservatives pursued.

In the 2020 election cycle, eight of the political action committees of Charlotte’s biggest companies sent about $200,000 to Republican candidates in North Carolina who objected to the confirmation of Democrat Joe Biden’s election as president, according to federal elections data compiled by the Observer.

Now, some corporations are pausing all political donations in reaction to the raid, including Charlotte-based Bank of America and Duke Energy.

Duke Energy said that it is pausing all federal political donations for 30 days, according to utility spokesman Neil Nissan. The energy giant donated $44,000 in the 2020 election cycle to North Carolina congressional lawmakers who objected to the certification of the Electoral College votes that formalized Biden’s win.

U.S. Reps. Dan Bishop, Ted Budd, Madison Cawthorn, Richard Hudson, David Rouzer, Greg Murphy and Virginia Foxx all sustained objections to at least one certification of Electoral College votes. All are Republicans. Bishop, Budd, Hudson and Foxx represent portions of the greater Charlotte area.

Duke Energy’s political action committee donated to all of them in the 2020 election cycle.

“During this time, we’re evaluating Duke Energy-supported candidates’ values and actions to ensure they align to our values and goals,” said Nissan. “The way members of Congress conducted themselves in this critical time will be an important consideration in future support.”

Cawthorn, who was sworn in as the congressman for much of Western North Carolina earlier this month, spoke at the rally last week that preceded the U.S. Capitol riot. Plans for subsequent armed marches in state capitals nationwide, including in Raleigh, have been circulating online since the riot, although it is unclear whether they will materialize.

“Any time you talk about major stakeholders removing financial investment in political campaigns, it’s a big deal,” said Anna Beavon Gravely, the executive director of the NC FreeEnterprise Foundation.

“It’s a safe statement for them to make that feels a bit like fluff. If they’re still holding this line this time next year, then that’s something that Republicans and Democrats need to be paying attention to,” she said.

Bank of America halting PAC donations

Bank of America is halting all political action committee donations for the immediate future, according to a memo to contributors to the Charlotte-based bank’s PAC.

“For upcoming elections, we will take into account the appalling events of January 6 before making any PAC decisions regarding those members,” the memo said.

The bank’s PAC donated $9,000 to Budd and $3,500 to Rouzer in the 2020 election cycle. Tom Montag, the chief operating officer of Bank of America, is a GOP megadonor. Montag gave $641,889 to conservative political causes in the 2020 election cycle, including to Republican members of Congress who objected to the certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6.

Additionally, Bank of America was the top donor to the 2020 Republican National Convention, part of which was held in Charlotte. The bank gave $5.3 million to the host committee for the event.

“Our PAC contributes to both parties and takes a lot of factors into account. However, in the next election cycle, the PAC will review its decision-making criteria in light of the actions that contributed to the appalling violent assault on the U.S. Capitol,” bank spokesman Bill Halldin said in a statement.

A few companies said they are refusing to donate to those who contested the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, including Marriott, Dow, Airbnb and Morgan Stanley.

While not ruling it out explicitly, Wells Fargo said it is pausing political contributions and “will take into consideration the actions of elected officials who objected to the Electoral College vote,” according to a statement from bank spokeswoman Erika Reynoso.

“We urge members of all political parties to work together in a bipartisan fashion to help our nation heal,” Reynoso said.

Others have yet to make a decision and are in the process of reviewing their donation policies. Charlotte-based steelmaker Nucor said it is reviewing its policies, as is Truist bank, which moved to Charlotte in 2019.

Truist’s PAC gave $28,000 to the campaigns of North Carolina members of Congress who disputed the presidential election. Nucor gave $27,500.

Easy money

For years, politicians treated corporate donations as easy money. Unless a candidate did something to anger a particular business, an incumbent’s campaign for statehouse or Congress could expect a healthy donation every cycle from many of the state’s top companies.

The criteria was never Republican or Democrat as both sides tended to get donations, even as the Republican Party got more conservative in recent years. Some companies only gave to incumbents. Others gave to party leadership.

Generally, the theory behind political giving for most corporate PACs is that the donations helped serve the company’s business interests, according to longtime GOP political consultant Paul Shumaker.

A smaller number of businesses donated ideologically, even if it didn’t align with their business interests.

“The question is: Are companies going to become ideological givers? Does the ideological giving outweigh the investment giving in the equilibrium?” said Shumaker, who has worked for GOP Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis.

With many corporations simply opting to pause donations, instead of forgoing them permanently, there is a chance that many just revert to their old practices once the public eye shifts.

“The journalist Jonathan Alter has a great quote: ‘Money in politics is like water running downhill, it finds its way,’” Shumaker said.

Reporter Gavin Off contributed.

This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Major NC companies financed GOP for years. Things could change after Capitol riot.."