Ernst Campaign Ad Calls Greenfield a Liar Over Special Interest Money Claims

DES MOINES, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s campaign released a new TV ad exposing Des Moines real estate executive Theresa Greenfield’s funding by special interest groups. She has campaigned on not taking “a dime” from special interests.

The ad states Greenfield has taken over half a million dollars from corporate lobbyists, executives, and CEOs. That includes money from drug companies, insurance companies, and even big oil. Special interests that Greenfield says she is against.

“Despite her rhetoric, Theresa Greenfield has hypocritically lined her pockets with half a million dollars from corporate lobbyists, executives, and CEOs,” said Brendan Conley, Communications Director for Team Joni. “If Greenfield will lie to Iowans about this, what else is she lying to us about?”

At issue is the leadership PAC (committees affiliated with current or former members of Congress) money Greenfield received.

A June report in The Washington Free Beacon took a deeper look at the hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign cash she has accepted that came from corporate-tied entities. And OpenSecrets featured Greenfield in a story about how Democrat senate candidates use corporate-funded LPACs to side-step their “no corporate PAC money” pledges.

One of Greenfield’s primary opponents, Eddie Mauro, attacked her on this during the Democratic U.S. Senate Primary debate on May 18.

“That leadership PAC money that she gets is full of pharmaceutical money, of fossil fuel money, of big ag money, and all kinds of money,” he said.

In May, before her campaign’s May 13 filings were made public, PolitiFact said Greenfield’s claim is “technically true” because she has not received corporate PAC money directly, but she has benefitted indirectly.

Greenfield has received donations from 34 leadership PACs totalling $252,300 according to FEC filings, and many of them have in turn received donations from corporate PACs.

Blue Hen PAC, associated with Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., has donated $10,000 to Greenfield’s campaign. Pharmaceutical and health product companies are the biggest donors to Blue Hen, according to the CRP, having received $42,500 from pharmaceutical PACs and employees.

AbbVie, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Amgen are a few of the drug companies that have made donations to Blue Hen.

Several other PACs Greenfield has received donations from have similar contributions from drug companies and other corporate industries. 

Greenfield received $10,000 from Impact, a PAC associated with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Impact has taken $87,500 in donations from pharmaceutical PACs, $31,500 from Telecom companies, and $22,500 from commercial banks. 

In February, Caffeinated Thoughts noted that while Greenfield did not take corporate PAC money, she took plenty of PAC money from other special interests. Looking at her current disclosures (Greenfield’s 2020 Q2 filings are not available at the time of publication), she continues to take PAC money.

As of May 13, she accepted $441,012 in PAC contributions making up 6.2 percent of her total contributions. Only $5000 could be attributed to a business-related PAC, while $78,500 came from labor interests and $371,963 from progressive groups.

Her largest donor donor to date is abortion-advocacy group EMILY’s List, which donated $112,744. Ironically, End Citizens United, a dark money group, gave Greenfield $33,950.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a statement saying Greenfield can’t be trusted.

“Democrat Theresa Greenfield has tried tirelessly to mislead voters about her failed business record and her reliance on corporate campaign cash,” said NRSC spokesperson Nathan Brand. “Hawkeye State voters can’t trust Greenfield’s inaccessible, unprepared, and misleading campaign.”  

Below is the transcript of the ad:

Narrator: Theresa Greenfield wants you to think she doesn’t take a dime of special interest money. 

Greenfield: “Not taking one dime.”“Won’t take one dime.”

Narrator: Problem is… she’s lying. 

Greenfield’s taken over half a million dollars from corporate lobbyists, executives and CEOs. Lobbyists for drug makers, insurance companies, even big oil. 

Ask yourself, why would Greenfield take so much from corporate lobbyists, then lie about it?

Theresa Greenfield; what else is she lying about?