VOTE ON SATURDAY!

August 15th, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARKANSAS DEMOCRATS VOTE SATURDAY TO END THE INFLUENCE OF DARK MONEY:

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna endorse Arkansas’s grassroots push

LITTLE ROCK – The Democratic Party of Arkansas is voting on Saturday for a package of rules changes introduced by State Committee member Corey Spangler to stamp out the influence of corrupt special interest money. Momentum is building this week as U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) offered their endorsements of the Arkansas plan’s resolution to reject oligarchy and dark money influence. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin joined on Tuesday, announcing a plan at the national level to chase out the influence of dark money PACs. Democratic Party of Arkansas members meet on Saturday in Little Rock for the party’s quarterly State Committee meeting.

“How are we going to take our democracy back if we can’t even take back our own party?,” said Spangler. “This is a rare moment where people who are fed up with all that we’re witnessing, can do something real to push back against the defining issues of our time –  oligarchy, corporate greed, and corrupt special interests that are hijacking our nation.”

Spangler is an elected member of Cabot's City Council and Chair of the Lonoke County Democratic Party. 

"The disastrous consequences of Citizens United are no longer theoretical - they are now our shared reality. Through the floodgates has broken a deluge of corporate and PAC money that has drowned out the voices of everyday citizens in the working and middle classes. We must end the corrupting influence of money in politics and restore power to the People. That’s a mission for the country at large – and for a Democratic Party wrestling with its message and purpose."

"The Democratic Party of Arkansas is in a unique position to lead the way in offering a model for campaign finance accountability. By making this issue fundamental to how we do business, as we rebuild the party, we will ensure that we have the freedom to serve in the best interest of the people. Not only is this the ethical thing to do, this is the politically intelligent thing to do. Dissatisfaction with the status quo led many to stay home this last election cycle, and led others still to gamble on a billionaire and his billionaire cabal. Granted, the President was elected with only a plurality, but Democrats must accept that we have allowed ourselves to become less relatable than Donald Trump and Elon Musk to a large enough chunk of the electorate to lose the election.

By enacting these changes, we begin re-establishing trust with Arkansans. Not every voter will  agree with all our positions immediately, but they will know we are on their side and not the side of billionaires and corporations. Building a party from the people on up is how Democrats earn their way back to winning elections. More importantly, it is how we Americans start building the country we want to live in."

RULES AND RESOLUTION SUMMARY:

PROPOSAL ONE:

This rules change empowers the executive committee to issue a list of organizations they’ve identified as grossly misaligned with the platform of the state party from whom the party and its auxiliaries will not accept direct contributions. We structured it this way instead of a blanket ban on corporations because it gives us the freedom to implement it tactically and thoughtfully.

PROPOSAL TWO:

This rules change empowers the executive committee to issue a list of organizations they’ve identified as grossly misaligned with the platform of the state party from whom Democratic candidates may not accept direct contributions. We structured it this way instead of a blanket ban on corporations because it gives us the freedom to implement it tactically and thoughtfully.

PROPOSAL THREE:

This resolution calls for the chair of the state party to form a committee to explore and offer proposed rules changes to mitigate the influence of outside spending in our primaries. It has the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and other national leaders. This resolution has been passed by the state parties of Arizona and North Carolina. On Tuesday, DNC Chair Ken Martin announced an identical resolution at the national level. 

SUMMARY:

With these three proposals addressing direct contributions to the party, direct contributions to candidates, and independent expenditures in our primaries, we are offering a way for our party to start working strategically towards taking our democracy back from the oligarchy to whom the Trump regime and corporatist Democrat collaborators have sold it.