Toyota announced on Thursday that it will stop donating funds to American legislators who contested certification of the 2020 election results.
“Our bipartisan PAC equally supports Democrats and Republicans running for Congress. In fact, in 2021, the vast majority of the contributions went to Democrats and Republicans who supported the certification of the 2020 election,” the auto company said in a statement.
“We understand that the PAC decision to support select Members of Congress who contested the results troubled some stakeholders. We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, we have decided to stop contributing to those Members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election,” Toyota said.
While Joe Biden was ultimately certified as the winner of the 2020 presidential contest, 147 GOP lawmakers were involved in supporting objections to some electoral votes. Eight senators and 139 House members voted to sustain either one or both of the objections to Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, but those objections were ultimately voted down by both chambers of Congress.
Data compiled by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington indicates that Toyota has donated to more than three dozen Republican election objectors to the tune of $56,000.
“Toyota supports candidates based on their position on issues that are important to the auto industry and the company. We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification,” a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement last month, according to The Hill. “Based on our thorough review, we decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions.”
Then on Thursday the automaker issued the announcement stating that it has chosen to cease contributing to lawmakers who contested certification of states in the 2020 contest.
In response to the news of Toyota’s decision, the Lincoln Project said the auto giant “made the right choice” and “put democracy ahead of transactional politics.”
The Lincoln Project’s had previously blasted the company: “Toyota vehicles feature safety detection systems, smartphone integration, and more white nationalism than you might’ve expected,” the Lincoln Project had said a tweet that featured an ad targeting Toyota over the political contributions.
