Holding Promised He Would Not Take Special Interest Money, Then Immediately Broke That Promise
In his 2012 campaign, Holding promised he would not take special interest money, but then broke his promise almost immediately, and then continued to take special interest money throughout his career.
When Holding made the commitment in March 2012, he said that “good conservatives” went to Washington and changed because they got special interest PAC money. Then in June 2012, Holding accepted his first corporate PAC contribution. When he was called out for his hypocrisy in 2018, Holding acknowledged his failed at his pledge, with his campaign saying that it “didn’t work out the way he wanted.” Over his career, Holding accepted over $2 million from corporate PACs.
Holding Was The Beneficiary Of One Of The First Single Candidate Super PACs
In his 2012 campaign, Holding was the beneficiary of one of the first single-candidate super PACs, one that was funded by his wealthy family. Bloomberg News said that the donor list to the super PAC supporting Holding “reads like a family reunion” and the father of Holding’s 2012 campaign manager was one of the founders of the super PAC.
One of the founding members of the super PAC even bragged that “we may have been among the very first to figure out you could do it in a congressional race.”
For his part, Holding was dismissive of concerns about the super PAC and his family’s funding of it. The super PAC continued to receive contributions from Holding’s family and spent big for Holding in 2016.
Holding Sold Out North Carolinians To His Big Special Interest Donors
Holding voted for the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which along with gutting protections for preexisting conditions, would have given a $28 billion tax break to the pharmaceutical industry. Hold received over $180,000 from the industry over his career.
Holding sold out North Carolina to his big special interest donors by supporting the Republican tax bill. It cut taxes for corporations from 35% to 21%, including for corporations and industries that backed Holding’s campaigns like big banks, telecom, and the insurance industry. The bill will blow a hole in the deficit, adding $1.9 trillion to the country’s debt. To pay for the tax plan, Congress will likely need to make deep cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
