An analysis of Amazon and Bezos activity in the current political cycle
Ahead of the pivotal 2024 U.S. elections, United for Respect took a close look at the political and partisan preferences of the country’s second-largest private-sector employer and its founder and chairman, Jeff Bezos. We reviewed and analyzed publicly accessible data on Amazon and the Bezos family’s political activity during the 2023-2024 election cycle.
Key findings:
- Amazon and the Bezos family have spent nearly $17 million this election cycle.
- Amazon’s and the Bezoses’ PACs spent over two-thirds of total spending on Republicans.
- PACs linked to the Bezoses spent 4x as much on independent spending to back Republicans.
- One out of every four dollars that Amazon’s PAC contributed went to election deniers.
According to government filings, PACs backed by Amazon and the Bezos family have donated nearly $17 million this election cycle (since January 1, 2023).
Less than ten percent of this money went directly to candidates. Amazon’s and the Bezoses’ PACs gave 90% of all their contributions to other political action committees (PACs). PACs can be aligned with parties (Party PACs), aligned with politicians (Leadership PACs), or dedicated to issues or ballot initiatives (Issue PACs).
Amazon and Bezos PAC contributions have a clear partisan preference, with two-thirds of their combined spending going to Republicans. Though technically nonpartisan, the PACs ultimately moved money to other PACs that directly supported conservative candidates and issues.
- PACs linked to the Bezos family, the Elect Principled Veterans Fund (EPV) and the Principled Veterans Fund (PV), support former veterans running for federal public office. EPV backs Republican candidates, while PV backs Democratic candidates. However, EPV donated twice as much in the current election cycle and spent 4x as much on independent spending compared to PV.
- In 2024, the With Honor Fund II made one of its largest donations – $850,000 – to Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb), a four-term congressman who opposes labor and abortion rights. Bacon repeatedly voted against the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. He also blocked the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 and the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022, declaring the bills “in alignment with Communist China and totalitarian North Korea in having the most extreme abortion laws in the world.”
- Amazon’s PAC funneled money to PACs that support Mike Rogers, a Republican Senate candidate in Michigan. Rogers is known for his conservative voting record when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He received contributions from Republican PACs like Dirigo, True North, and Wild & Wonderful – all backed by Amazon’s PAC.
- Amazon’s PAC has long supported Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee from the State of Washington. In 2024, the Rodgers-backed PAC, CMR PAC, contributed to the campaigns of JD Vance and Michigan Republican Congressman Tim Walberg. Last year, Walberg introduced legislation to “rein in” the National Labor Relations Board.
Based on data from States United Action, we found that Amazon contributed at least $180,500 to election deniers during this election cycle. This is likely an undercount, as comprehensive data on election deniers is only available for seven states. States United Action has conducted research on election deniers at the federal level, statewide offices, and state legislative races in these key swing states. From the available data set, Amazon donated $731,000 to politicians and campaigns. This means that the $180,500 given to election deniers accounts for one out of every four dollars contributed.
Here are the top election denier beneficiaries:
United for Respect compiled Amazon and Bezos family donations from several sources:
- Amazon PAC files monthly reports with the Federal Election Commission. These reports list all federal contributions and some state-level contributions. The monthly reports filed in 2023 and 2024 (with contributions through September 30, 2024) list $1,337,000 in contributions (net of refunds) across 621 transactions.
- With Honor PAC, With Honor Fund Inc., and With Honor Fund II contributions and independent expenditures were compiled from FEC contributor data since January 1, 2023, accessed September 15, 2024. The PACS contributed $15,389,154 in 688 transactions.
- Elect Principled Veterans Fund and Principled Veterans Fund contributions and independent expenditures were compiled from FEC contributor data since January 1, 2023, accessed September 15, 2024. The PACs contributed $7,369,400 in 67 transactions.
- FEC aggregate amounts in the Financial Summary differ from the available data that it is linked to. This may be due to a lag in uploading of data. In these cases, we used the smaller of the two amounts.
Notes on coding and categorization:
- Party affiliation was assigned to party committees, individual politicians, and the Leadership PACs aligned with individual politicians.
- Party PACs are affiliated with a national or state party. Issue PACs are those PACs not classified as Leadership or Party PACs.