Studies, polls, focus groups, and bipartisan town halls all point to the same conclusion: money and corruption are undermining our political system. Voters across the political spectrum share concerns about large donors having outsized influence over regular citizens, and how little it takes for wealthy interests to pressure elected officials.

Beyond the corruption itself, our broken campaign finance system creates a vicious cycle. Candidates must become increasingly outlandish to generate attention and donations. This forces politicians to adopt extreme positions that most voters don't support, simply to stay competitive in fundraising. The result is a political culture that rewards divisive rhetoric over substantive solutions.

The amount of money needed to run a competitive campaign creates a major roadblock for qualified candidates. Many potential public servants (teachers, small business owners, community organizers) never run because they can't compete with wealthy or well connected opponents. This deprives voters of real choice and keeps new voices out of our government.

Public financing programs in other states have proven that there's a better way. Evidence from Connecticut, Maine, and Arizona shows that public financing leads to more competitive races, more first time candidates, and fewer unopposed elections. When candidates don't have to spend every waking moment fundraising, they can focus on talking to voters about the issues that matter.

I frequently mention that we need to look to other states for solutions to the challenges we face. States like Washington, Connecticut, and Maine have implemented comprehensive campaign finance reforms that have created fairer, more transparent systems.

This is where putting Pennsylvanians over Profits really begins by examining what works elsewhere and building a Pennsylvania framework that tackles corruption head on.