Beto O'Rourke to return lobbyist contribution check
Former Texas lawmaker Beto O’Rourke – a 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful – said on Friday he is returning a check sent to his campaign by a lobbyist.
At an event in New Hampshire, O’Rourke said he was “just told” that the campaign accepted the contribution on “one of the last days of the FEC filing period.”
“We’re returning that check from the lobbyist because we declared at the outset that there would be no money accepted from lobbyists,” he said.
The check was reportedly from a Chevron lobbyist in New Mexico, for $250, according to The Washington Examiner. An irritated voter questioned the former lawmaker about how the contribution fit into his climate change agenda.
Earlier this week, O’Rourke declined to sign a pledge spearheaded by climate change activists that would have bound him to refusing to accept any donations from the fossil fuel industry, as reported by Bloomberg.
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O’Rourke’s campaign said at the end of the first quarter that it raised $9.4 million from 218,000 contributors.
Many of the candidates vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2020 have sworn off donations from PACs and lobbyists, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris.