Votes against election certification to factor into Cummins’ political giving

The exterior of the Cummins Columbus Engine Plant in Columbus is shown. Republic file photo

Cummins Inc. has said it will consider whether lawmakers voted last week against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory before making future donations to their campaigns, joining a growing list of companies that have said the GOP-led effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results will factor into their political giving.

Through its political action committee, Cummins, a Columbus-based Fortune 150 company, has made at least $26,000 in contributions over roughly the past two years to at least 27 of the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn election results in Arizona or Pennsylvania — including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, and Rep. Greg Pence, R-IN, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Among the Republicans who voted to overturn the Electoral College results last Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, and Pence had received the most contributions from Cummins Inc. Political Action Committee, or CIPAC, each receiving $3,000, federal election records show.

The other three members of Indiana’s congressional delegation who voted to object to Electoral College tallies also received donations from CIPAC, including Reps. Jackie Walorski, Jim Baird, and Rep. Jim Banks.

Company spokesman Jon Mills told The Republic that CIPAC has “a robust evaluation process” to determine which candidates and elected officials it will support, and the votes to object to election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania will “absolutely” be part of the evaluation process.

For years, CIPAC has made donations to elected officials on both sides of the aisle, including contributions of $3,000 during the past election cycle to both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY.

CIPAC reported making $268,694.50 in disbursements from Jan. 1, 2019 to Nov. 23, 2020, according to the FEC.

“We are currently not contributing funds at this time,” Mills told The Republic. “Our PAC has a robust evaluation process for each elected official we support, including whether or not the individual reflects our core values. The (election certification votes) will absolutely be part of that evaluation process prior to any contributions being made.”

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.