Surprise! Nike’s Generous Political Donations Aim to Keep Republicans in Control of Congress

*Despite Nike’s progressive “Just Do It”30th-anniversary campaign starring Colin Kaepernick, a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics shows that company employees and its political action committee have donated more than three times as much money to Republican candidates as Democratic challengers for the 2018 election season.

via Medium:

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the 2018 campaign cycle, Nike employees and its political action committee contributed a total of $424,600 to Republicans and $122,400 to Democrats in Congress. 78 percent of Nike contributions went to Republicans and 22 percent to Democrats.

In 2018, the bulk of Nike money went to two major Republican campaign efforts: $189,600 to the National Republican Congressional Committee and $123,100 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (2016 marked a brief deviation from a longstanding pro-Republican trend for Nike contributors.)

Nike also donated $20,922 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

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It’s worth noting that the homepage for the National Republican Congressional Committee reads:

We defend your conservative values by protecting our Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Your support is more important than ever as we look toward the 2018 midterm elections. Stand with us and defend your conservative majority in Congress.

While the homepage of the National Republican Senatorial Committee reads:

The NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) is the only national organization solely devoted to strengthening the Republican Senate Majority and electing Republicans to the United States Senate.

Though Nike contributed to both parties, the company overall is spending more money to make sure Republicans retain control of Congress.

Medium.com also noted that “Nike is, in essence, running three overlapping campaigns in America”:

1. The Nike propaganda campaign to identify itself with Colin Kaepernick and, implicitly, “the Resistance.”
2. The Nike lobbying campaign to push its business agenda in Congress with both Republicans and Democrats.
3. The Nike political campaign to preserve Republican control of the U.S. government, while keeping some friendly Democrats in Congress happy.