WASHINGTON—CUNA’s 2016 post-general election report shows that its Credit Union Legislative Action Council (CULAC) raised a record $4.8 million in receipts this cycle to back credit union-friendly candidates, the trade association reported.
CUNA noted that this makes CULAC the sixth largest trade association political action committee (PAC) in the country for 2015-2016.
“Credit unions have an amazing grassroots network that supports candidates, on both sides of the aisle, who understand credit unions and are willing to back priorities that help credit unions better serve their members,” Trey Hawkins, CUNA vice president of political affairs said.
“In fact,” he added, “the dedication of the CUNA-league system helped to elect 97% of the 364 candidates that credit unions supported for the House and Senate this cycle.”
CULAC makes direct contributions to and spends independent expenditures on behalf of pro-credit union candidates. The partisan breakdown for CULAC giving remains almost exactly 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans, making it one of the most bipartisan PACs in the country, CUNA explained.
The $4.8 million in receipts represents a new record for CULAC, surpassing the $4.4 million raised in 2013-2014.
The 2015-2016 cycle officially ends Dec. 31 and CULAC will file an updated report with the Federal Election Commission, CUNA said.