INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
At first glance, gambling appears to be one of the many issues on which Donald Trump and Mike Pence differ. Trump is an East Coast casino magnate who has boasted of using his fortune to influence lawmakers. Pence is a socially conservative Midwesterner who says he has never even bought a lottery ticket. He has cast himself as an opponent of expanding gaming in a state whose campaign finance laws aim to limit casino moguls’ political power.
But a closer look shows the Republican standard-bearers have plenty in common: As casino industry cash went around Indiana’s anti-corruption laws and into groups supporting Pence’s campaigns, the GOP governor used his power to help gambling interests. While Trump has promised throughout the 2016 presidential campaign that his personal wealth would insulate his administration from donor influence, his running mate's actions on the gaming issue challenge that pledge.
An International Business Times/MapLight review of campaign finance records shows that despite Indiana statutes officially banning gaming industry donations to state officials, Indiana gaming interests gave more than $2 million to groups supporting Pence since he first began running for governor. That includes gaming-linked lobbying firms and their employees donating nearly a half-million dollars directly to Pence’s campaign account.
At first glance, gambling appears to be one of the many issues on which Donald Trump and Mike Pence differ. Trump is an East Coast casino magnate who has boasted of using his fortune to influence lawmakers. Pence is a socially conservative Midwesterner who says he has never even bought a lottery ticket. He has cast himself as an opponent of expanding gaming in a state whose campaign finance laws aim to limit casino moguls’ political power.
But a closer look shows the Republican standard-bearers have plenty in common: As casino industry cash went around Indiana’s anti-corruption laws and into groups supporting Pence’s campaigns, the GOP governor used his power to help gambling interests. While Trump has promised throughout the 2016 presidential campaign that his personal wealth would insulate his administration from donor influence, his running mate's actions on the gaming issue challenge that pledge.
An International Business Times/MapLight review of campaign finance records shows that despite Indiana statutes officially banning gaming industry donations to state officials, Indiana gaming interests gave more than $2 million to groups supporting Pence since he first began running for governor. That includes gaming-linked lobbying firms and their employees donating nearly a half-million dollars directly to Pence’s campaign account.
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