Joe Mitchell has received thousands of dollars in donations from corporate interest PACs

Former Iowa state Rep. Joe Mitchell, the Republican nominee for Iowa’s open 2nd Congressional District seat, has said frequently that he is not taking any donations from corporate political action committees during this campaign. However, an Iowa Independent review of campaign finance disclosures shows that he has repeatedly taken money from trade association PACs, which are funded by corporate members and advocate for corporate interests.

Mitchell will face Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James in the November election. The winner will succeed Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for U.S. Senate. The 2nd District includes Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and other northeastern Iowa communities.

In a section of his campaign website labeled “No Corporate PAC Money,” Mitchell says: “As your representative, I will fight for you—not corporations. That’s why I don’t take a dime of corporate PAC money. When elected officials are funded by special interests, it’s the public who gets left behind.”

When Mitchell’s campaign filed its July 15 quarterly report with the Federal Election Commission, it listed several donations accepted from trade association PACs representing corporations. These included $2,500 on June 29 from the Mortgage Bankers Association PAC, which calls itself “the only PAC that directly represents the entire real estate finance industry in our nation’s political system.” 

The PAC has received funding from executives of major mortgage lenders, including Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Guild Mortgage, Lennar Mortgage, Rocket Mortgage, and Wells Fargo.

Mitchell previously worked in President Donald Trump’s administration as chief of staff at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, and as a regional director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

His disclosure filing also lists a $5,000 contribution from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers PAC, $5,000 from the National Electrical Contractors Association PAC, $2,500 from the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals PAC, $2,000 from CHS Inc. PAC, $2,000 from the Trucking PAC of the American Trucking Associations, and $1,000 from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies PAC.

Earlier disclosures indicate that Mitchell also received $5,000 from the American Bankers Association BankPAC, $5,000 from the Associated Builders and Contractors ABC PAC, and $5,000 from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America InsurPac. 

Mitchell’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

“It makes sense that candidates like Joe Mitchell want to burnish their anti-corruption credentials because Americans are incredibly fed up with the undue influence of special interests in our politics,” Abigail Bellows, senior policy director for anti-corruption and accountability at the nonpartisan group Common Cause, told the Iowa Independent. “It’s drowning out the voices of everyday people, and the polling I saw earlier this year said that something like 70% of Americans believe that special interests and well-connected donors have more influence over their members of Congress than they do. So that’s a level of concern that is alarming for any democracy. So it’s natural and political good sense for candidates to focus on how to restore trust with voters, but if you’re going to tell it that you’re the people’s candidate, it doesn’t help to take a lot of funds from one of those special interest groups that are part of the reason that people have low trust in Congress.”

Bellows noted that there is a distinction between donations from PACs associated with individual corporations and those connected with trade associations, but that constituents would likely be concerned about funds received from both types: “It’s hard to see how an industry trade association PAC is not a special interest. They’re not a corporation, individual corporation, but they are, by most people’s definition, a special interest, because what special interest means is that it’s a very small segment of our society advocating for views that might be at odds with other segments of our society.”

In an April press release issued by the anti-corruption PAC End Citizens United, which has endorsed her candidacy, James pledged not to take corporate PAC money. “Washington is rigged for the billionaires and corporate interests who flood our elections with Big Money,” she said. I’m rejecting corporate PAC money because voters deserve to know I will only represent their interests, not those of corporate donors or billionaires. I look forward to partnering with End Citizens United to continue advocating for hard-working families and defeating my millionaire, lobbyist, Republican opponent.”

James’ campaign has not reported accepting any contributions from corporate PACs or trade association PACs.