Major US companies like Amazon, DoorDash and CVS Health are supporting a group which is pushing for the re-election of Todd Rokita, the Republican attorney general of Indiana who supports a total abortion ban. Rokita was infamous for being reprimanded by the state supreme court for criticizing a doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
The publically available filings stated that the corporate donations were made to the Republican Attorneys General Association, or Raga, a “527 committee” which exists to funnel nationally donated funds to key state races. Interestingly, the three entities mentioned in the filing have publicly expressed support for ensuring reproductive rights across the United States.
According to the filing, in 2024, Amazon, DoorDash and CVS Health between them have donated a whopping $425,000 to Raga. Meanwhile, the group has donated $255,000 to Rokita’s campaign, The Guardian reported. The controversial Republican lawmaker has also participated in a suit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over accommodations for workers receiving abortions.
The unknown side of campaign donations
Donations to Republican and Democratic 527 committees have long been tracked by the Center for Political Accountability, a Washington think tank. In August this year, while introducing a CPA report, Bruce Buchanan, a professor of business ethics at the Stern School of Business at New York University, spoke about the donations to these committees. “Their power far exceeds their media presence. The American citizenry has little awareness of their influence and even less of their funding and methods. This is unfortunate,” he averred.
“… As major corporations open their chequebooks to these 527s – and especially to the Republican Attorney Generals Association (Raga) – these funds are going to elect and re-elect state officials that are actively advancing policies antithetical to stakeholder groups across society,” Prof. Buchanan added.
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