SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington State Democratic Party has launched a campaign aimed at pressuring corporations and PACs to stop funding Washington Rep. Matt Shea’s campaign.
Washington Democrats tweeted about the campaign on Monday, calling Shea’s ideology “dangerous” and “extremist.”
A recent investigation from the Guardian tied Shea, a six-term Republican representative for Washington state’s fourth district in Spokane Valley, to a group training young men for “biblical warfare.”
In July, the Washington State House announced that it had hired a firm to investigate whether Rep. Matt Shea has engaged in, planned or promoted political violence and to determine the extent of his involvement with groups or people involved with such activities.
Shea also came under fire in November 2018 after releasing a document called the “Biblical Basis for Warfare,” which was shared by Facebook user Tanner Rowe.
The “Cancel Matt Shea” website encourages visitors to take action against him, crediting the existence of White Nationalism in Washington to Shea.
“Shea’s corporate donors must denounce his actions and recognize that if they fund him, they are also funding the growth of White Nationalism in Washington state,” the website reads.
The website directs visitors to tweet at Shea’s donors, urging them to stop funding his effort. It includes a list of major corporations and PACs, followed by those who have already pledged to stop supporting Shea’s campaign.
Some of the companies listed as corporate donors who have divested from Shea are the Washington Association of Realtors, Boeing PAC, Avista Corp., BNSF Railway Co. and others.
“Some of Shea’s corporate donors have already done the right thing and pledged to stop supporting his campaign,” the website reads.
Puget Sound Energy in western Washington reached out to the Washington Democrats on Twitter, writing that they requested a $500 refund from their contribution to Shea’s 2018 campaign because the company felt he didn’t align with its corporate values.