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FEC records show donations from wealthy, big business out-of-state donors, and recent contributions from corporate PACS. During the 2022 campaign, Balint criticized opponent Molly Gray for accepted Big Sugar $$ from a PAC.
Editor’s note: this story has been edited to remove or significantly edit several sentences appearing to republish, without attribution, sentences from an August 25 VT Digger news story. Digger ‘broke the story’ and our own efforts to report the story resulted in this journalistic error. Our apologies to Digger and to reporter Shaun Robinson.
By Paul Bean
A political action committee (PAC) that donates political contributions to Rep. Becca Balint, Vermont’s lone U.S. congressperson, disclosed thousands in contributions from Google, Nike, and Universal Music Group in its most recent federal filing.
According to VT Digger, Balint, D-Vt., recently told supporters that she does not accept corporate PAC money. “Hi, it’s Becca,” she wrote last month in a campaign email. “I don’t take corporate PAC money.”
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Balint’s campaign has not directly accepted contributions from corporate PACs, which are political action committees explicitly tied to corporations.
She has received significant funding from other types of PACs, including those linked to trade associations, unions, and ideological groups, some of which indirectly represent corporate interests.
In the first half of 2025, “Courage PAC,” a Burlington-based PAC established by Balint, received thousands in donations from PACs connected to major corporations, per its latest FEC report.
Per its July 31 FEC filing, Balint’s Courage PAC reported $13,500 in contributions for the first half of 2025, with over half from corporate-linked PACs: $5,000 from Nike’s federal PAC, $2,500 from Universal Music Group’s PAC, and $1,000 from Google’s federal PAC, as reported by VTdigger.
Balint’s campaign also accepted contributions from individual corporate executives and lobbyists, which are not classified as corporate PAC money but still connect her to corporate networks.
FEC data shows donations from leaders at companies in tech and healthcare, sectors with significant influence in Washington. Since January first, her top eight individual donors were from out of state and the number one donor, Caroline Niemczyk, currently serves as chair of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies and serves on the advisory boards of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Balint also accepted her largest individual donations from these out-of-state residents:
- Christopher Randle, who used to work in the Legislative Offices in Congress, now works for Meta (Facebook) and donated $3,500.
- Adam Sappern, former Windsor County (VT) Justice of the Peace, and is now the President of MBB Capital Partners Family Office in Chicago Illinois: $5,035.
- Brian Pryzbyski, a lawyer from Washington DC donated: $3,500.
- Kathryn Millis, a public policy and legal professional in homeland security, immigration enforcement, and federal immigration policy donated: $3,300.
- Joseph Alsop, a 1967 MIT BSEE graduate, founded Progress Software Inc., served as its CEO until 2009, and now works as a Venture Partner investing in and consulting for tech companies donated: $3,300.
- Former Congressman Chet Atkins from Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District donated $3,300.
According to July’s FEC filings, around two-thirds of the funds raised by Balint’s campaign in the first half of 2025 came from individual donors. The remaining portion largely came from PACs tied to various industries, labor groups, and cooperatives, including one notably involved in the heated final stretch of Balint’s 2022 primary race against Molly Gray. Balint defeated Gray and went on to win her first term in Congress.
You may remember, during the 2022 primary, Balint’s campaign criticized Gray for accepting a donation from a PAC linked to American Crystal Sugar Company, the nation’s leading beet sugar producer.
Balint’s team accused the Minnesota-based cooperative of being the top donor to Republican lawmakers who actively supported the January 6th insurrection. A report from the nonpartisan watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington confirmed that American Crystal Sugar’s PAC was among the largest contributors to members of Congress who opposed certifying the 2020 presidential election.
Balint herself faced scrutiny after the 2022 primary when campaign finance records revealed that Nishad Singh, a former advisor to disgraced cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried, had contributed $1.1 million to a PAC that funded pro-Balint ads.
Balint’s campaign later stated it had no coordination with Singh during the ad campaign. However, as reported by VDC: Balint’s campaign policy goals closely resembled those of the Protect Our Futures PAC established by the founder of FTX.
POF PAC website: “We must establish independent oversight of dual-use research including enforcement mechanisms to ensure safety and security.
Balint website: “Establish independent oversight of labs conducting dual-use research of concern.”
This was simply Balint parroting for profit, Republican nominee Liam Madden claimed in a campaign op-ed. “This policy is something that was inconvenient to support before. It was politically expensive, so Balint hadn’t the courage to breathe a peep about it—until it paid,” he said.
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Categories: politics
This just drives home the point, our Democrat elected officials claim to be Nobel and striving to preserve Democracy, whatever that is in their vision, but repeatedly lie, obfuscate and bury facts that are not in their favor.
She criticizes the GOP for accepting PAC money, denies she accepts any and is found that she is. Color me surprised. *rolls eyes*
A Democrat that talks out of both sides of her mouth ? Show me one that doesn’t .
This proves she has had practice in lying all her life. To the point of being able to lie with a straight face. She would put Pinocchio to shame. Her true name is Rep. Becca Pinocchio Balint who speaks with a forked tongue. Much like Elizabeth Pocahontas Warren.
Just look at her TV commercial that is running ad-nausium against a bill that has already been passed, yelling millions of people will die while the pockets of billionaire Republicans will be lined with their money. Nothing but lies which is apparently what her career has been built on
Follow the money…
This article tells you a lot about the Congresswoman. It tells me that she is not transparent, deceitful and knows how to play the Democratic shell game. Voters in VT are smarter than she thinks.
Just another phony politician telling people what they want to here. Yup George Carlin was right 30 some years ago
So a corporation donates to its PAC. That PAC donates to another PAC. The second PAC donates to Balint’s campaign There’s a name for this: it’s called “money laundering.”
All this crap started when the Supreme Court determined that a PAC was an individual! It opened the door for corrupting the US’s political system even more than it was already! And I thought prostitution was illegal! I guess, except in politics!
Same ole stuff just the next day! If it’s a Dem or Lib this is normal behavior. Like Bernies hefty funding from big Pharma. He was called out by Robert Kennedy Jr. on the floor of congress. Bernie complained Kennedy actually made money suing the same people Bernie rails about.
There’s that game of semantics again. The statement of “I don’t take corporate PAC money.” Instead, oodles of money comes through ACT Blue – currently under investigation and the leadership stepped down. The premise of individual donors is hidden within duplicating those donors hundreds of times in small increments. Meaning no reporting of large donors, but add up the legitimate donors that are duplicated mulitple times = a windfall of millions obtained through fraud. It shows up clearly in the election records and I found it quite easily.
Also, don’t forget the SCOTUS case – Citizens United v. FEC in 2010 “which extended First Amendment free speech rights to corporations, allowing them to spend unlimited money on political advertising.” Leading to the birth of multiple flush PACs and millions upon millions (foreign and domestic) flooding into campaign coffers of the pre-selected winners. Notice who gets the most attention and press, wins the seat, and then how they govern or legislate on behalf of their Master. Bought and paid for representation by and for the corporations. They funnel the money to whom they choose through their family, friends and associates running the PACs.
Rest assured, no one will go to jail and no assets will be seized or returned. No honor among thieves.
To make matters worse, it was discovered ACT Blue and other Dem friendly NGO’s were actually spending out Federal tax money via backdoor funding from USAID and other programs that were really backdoor political money. Which is why there was so much screaming when funding was cut off.
she was bought and paid for $1,000,000 !!!!!
that is the truth and a good headline. Meanwhile 80% of Vermont citizenry will have no idea what actually happened, because we don’t have free press or free speech, since facebook is still corrupt, and front porch forum is a complete commie hell hole, how they have non-profit status beats me.
Balint should start her own crypto currency. That way she will be able to hide donations better. She should learn from the best. Trump forever!
All good comments on why Rep. Balint aught not be representing Vermonters in Wash. DC. Start now to take action and work to get her out of office in 2026. There are opportunities to support true conservatives (not RINOs), especially now as the work begins in city and town Republican Committees to organize and put forth viable candidates up and down the slate for local, state, and federal offices.
So in reading this it appears if the money is laundered first then it is clean enough for Balint to accept…right?
Yea right.
Vote her out!