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More than half the House Republican conference voted against certifying President Biden's election victory in January, prompting many corporate PACs to curtail support for the anti-election lawmakers. There were, however, some notable exceptions.
In fact, Toyota's corporate PAC stood out as unique: Relying on data from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Axios reported last week that the automaker delivered more campaign contributions to more anti-election Republicans than any other.
By way of a defense, a Toyota spokesperson said, "We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification."
In other words, "Sure these Republicans defied democracy without remorse, but is this really that bad? Is their willingness to overturn an American election so wrong that we should stop throwing money at them?"
Toyota's decision was not well received. Not only did the company face all kinds of criticisms from progressive voices online, but the Washington Post's Dana Milbank devoted a brutal column to the issue, reflecting on the automaker's indifference to constitutional democracy. After noting that he'll no longer buy another Toyota vehicle, Milbank added, "Toyota likes to say its cars are 'made in America' — while its actions are unmaking America."
Soon after, the Lincoln Project announced the launch of a new ad campaign, starting with this minute-long commercial, which was set to air on national cable networks. A press statement on the ad campaign added, "We will also digitally blanket the top 20 Toyota dealerships in the country."
Yesterday, 10 days after the public learned about the company's PAC contributions, the automaker caved.
Japanese automaker Toyota announced Thursday it will stop contributing to Republican members of Congress who on Jan. 6 voted against certifying the 2020 election results after a PAC said it would begin running ads criticizing companies for such donations. Toyota's decision to donate to those lawmakers after Jan. 6 "troubled some stakeholders," and for that reason "we have decided to stop contributing to those Members of Congress," the company said in a statement.
The reference to "those" members suggests Toyota still intends to use its corporate PAC to support congressional lawmakers, but the 147 Republicans who rejected the election results will no longer be among the beneficiaries.
To be sure, it's worth emphasizing that some business giants "paused" their support for anti-election Republicans in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, only to recently start opening their corporate wallets again months later. With this in mind, it's possible that Toyota will try to reverse course at some point in the coming months, but if so, the company should expect fierce blowback if it tries to reverse its reversal.
(Toyota was not among those who made "pause" commitments earlier this year.)
All of this is notable in part because of the message it sends to other businesses: the insurrectionist riot has not been forgotten, and members of Congress who endorsed the rioters' goal have earned pariah status. Corporations need to realize that their contributions are receiving greater scrutiny, and those that choose to support these anti-election Republicans financially will face public pressure.
But yesterday's news was also notable because it offers fresh evidence of an important truth: sometimes, activism works.