Exclusive Brethren/U.S. presidential election, 2004

In 2004 the Exclusive Brethren held prayer meetings and donated money for the Presidential re-election campaign of George W. Bush and U.S. Senate candidate Mel Martinez.

In October 2004, the Thanksgiving Committee was formed "four days after the deadline for reporting pre-election campaign expenditures," the St. Petersburg Times reported. It also reported that the men who formed the group were members of the Exclusive Brethren. OpenSecrets reported that the committee raised and spent $636,522 in the 2004 campaign.

The largest single donor, who contributed $377,262, was from Bruce Hazell of London, England. The committee took out a full page advertisement in the New York Times and a smaller one in the Tampa Tribune backing Bush "and a quarter-page ad in the St. Petersburg Times endorsing Republican Mel Martinez for U.S. Senate because of his support for traditional marriage."

The contact listed for the group, Steve Truan, told the St. Petersburg Times that the group likes to "fly beneath the radar." He refused to discuss the advertisements.

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Exclusive Brethren
 * Exclusive Brethren/Australian Federal Election, 2004
 * Exclusive Brethren/New Zealand election, 2005
 * Exclusive Brethren/Tasmanian State election, 2006