--- title: Democratic Convention: Corporate Donors and Bernie Sanders description: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has not said whether he would return corporate funds solicited for the convention. canonical: https://time.com/4290184/democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-corporate-donations-campaign-finance/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-12T22:54:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T12:05:11.660Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Convention Costs Put Bernie Sanders in a Bind og:description: He has not said whether he would return corporate funds solicited for it. og:url: https://time.com/4290184/democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-corporate-donations-campaign-finance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74c8bf212289fae4/69888edd0b72e39db36e8ece/2012_democratic_national_convention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4881 og:image:height: 2746 og:image:alt: 2012 Democratic National Convention og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Convention Costs Put Bernie Sanders in a Bind twitter:description: He has not said whether he would return corporate funds solicited for it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74c8bf212289fae4/69888edd0b72e39db36e8ece/2012_democratic_national_convention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Convention Costs Put Bernie Sanders in a Bind > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=08b34bf5-1215-425b-bf07-17a655ee4aa9&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Sam Frizell / New York City](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) Apr 12, 2016 10:54 PM UTC  The 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 6, 2012. The 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 6, 2012. Carolyn Kaster—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) and [Sam Frizell / New York City](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) Apr 12, 2016 10:54 PM UTC Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders has scored political points off his rival’s high-dollar fundraising, while lambasting the influence of the “a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists” in the American political process. But should he win the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders stands to be the beneficiary of the same largesse he targets on the campaign trail. Sanders has not responded to repeated questions from TIME over several months about whether he would ask the Democratic National Committee to stop raising money from federal lobbyist money or PACs if he is the nominee, as well as whether he would return corporate funds solicited for the convention. If Sanders did accept such funds to the DNC, it would challenge his own rhetoric. The Sanders campaign circulated a petition to oppose such funding to the DNC shortly after the Party announced its new policy in February, but has not commented on its own campaign contributions or agreed to return DNC funding from lobbyists and corporate PACs. In June 2008, then-presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama prohibited the Democratic National Committee from accepting contributions from federal lobbyists or political action committees, and banned corporate contributions to the party’s convention in Denver. Obama explained his decision not to accept PAC or lobbyist money at the time as a kind of purity test for the Democratic Party. “We’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different,” he said. Four years later during his re-election, Obama broke his pledge to maintain the ban on corporate funding to the Charlotte convention, when an eight-figure loan from North Carolina-based Duke Energy was forgiven. This February, the DNC began to accept such money again after a near-eight-year hiatus, announcing that it was loosening its fundraising rules. In this election cycle, some of that money has been raised by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through her joint fundraising account with the DNC, whose coffers she has filled with high-dollar fundraisers across the country. Sanders has repeatedly criticized her appearances at those gatherings, even when the national party was a beneficiary. Sanders has also made appearances at high-dollar Democratic Party fundraisers, including one on Martha’s Vineyard in 2007 that included more than 100 lobbyists and wealthy donors who donated the maximum possible funds to the Party, MSNBC reported. The Vermont Senator’s campaign has taken money from lobbyists as well, including the National Mining Association and the National Cannabis Association. A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee said he would not comment on the potential implications of a Sanders nomination on the committee’s finances. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4290184/democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-corporate-donations-campaign-finance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4290184/democratic-convention-bernie-sanders-corporate-donations-campaign-finance/"},"headline":"How Convention Costs Put Bernie Sanders in a Bind","datePublished":"2016-04-12T22:54:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:05:11.660Z","description":"Vermont Sen. 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