But did you know that companies that are right here in Wallingford make political donations? Using an app called Goods Unite Us (which I highly recommend), I’ve done a search of some of the larger chain stores we have in the neighborhood or nearby. Many larger companies donate to both parties, but often more to one party than the other.
I’ve compiled a local list of which party the majority of the company’s donations are given to:
| REPUBLICAN: | DEMOCRAT: |
| QFC | Trader Joe’s |
| Fred Meyer | Domino’s Pizza |
| Ace Hardware | Chipotle |
| Brooks Running | Starbucks |
| Public Storage | CVS (slightly more to Democrats) |
| Shell Oil (slightly more to Republicans) | Walgreens |
| BECU | |
| Bank of America |
Was it what you expected? Some certainly surprised me. I thought Brooks Running, which is headquartered here in liberal Seattle, would certainly run blue. But nope, 56% percent of their donations go to Republicans and according to the app the amount they donate is “very high.”
I know a lot of people will be sad to learn that QFC gives 61% of their donations to Republicans and they donate a lot. But Trader Joe’s to the east donates 84% of their political donations to Democrats, although their overall contributions are relatively low (these are the numbers at the time of this writing, but are subject to change over time).
If you don’t see a company on my list, it could be because some companies don’t make political donations at all. And still others haven’t been added to the app yet. If you have information on the political leanings of other large chain stores that hasn’t been mentioned, please leave them in the comments below.
I understand that some of these large company overlords might have different political leanings than their employees or franchise owners. And yes, you will probably still sometimes see me in QFC because I’m a busy mama and it’s so close. So I’m not chastising everyone to make a full 180 today. But the more you know, the more you can make an informed decision that is right for you.
Whenever possible I encourage you to shop small, shop local. Go to your local farmer’s market (the U District one is year-round). This is another important act of resistance against the oligarchy and helps to strengthen the middle class and lessen the wage gap. And paying with cash whenever possible allows those small companies to keep more money for themselves and give less to the large credit card companies in fees.
And I get it, there may be some reading this post who did vote for Der Fuhrer. Oh sorry, that’s embarrassing, I meant Elon! Shoot noooo, I meant Trump!!! (My bad, I get those three confused all the time). But no fear, the Goods Unite Us is an equal opportunity app, it shows you both parties. It doesn’t discriminate against you based on your political affiliation, or your immigration status, or your gender, or anything at all.
Personally speaking, I don’t have any financial interest in the Goods Unite Us app or any of the companies mentioned. I’m just an engaged citizen. At a time when so many of us are feeling defeated, I want you to have the chance to say “You’re not getting my money today, Satan.” I encourage you to spread the word about the app so the effect of our resistance grows. Don’t give up. Defund the dictator.
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I want to with due respect reply to the comment. First, it is true that the president was legally elected. And many who voted from him believed they were doing the right thing (although some are rabid racists and white supremacists, but not all, of course).
But, he and Musk are committing crimes. They are a danger to our democratic institutions. Trump proposes tearing up a piece of the Constitution, all by himself. I quote from Hopium Chronicles, which I recommend: "…courageous judges are blocking elements of the extraordinary Trump/Musk crime spree and attack on the government of the United States.” These are not normal times.
Besides which, boycotting is a very effective strategy. Why should I support a firm that is helping to tear my country to pieces? I was about to go to Brooks to purchase a new pair of shoes. Now I will go elsewhere. Not only that, I will tell them, politely of course, why not. Even though much of the staff no doubt does not support Trump. Thank you for listening. And thank you Wallyhood for all you do.
Please don't boycott Brooks because of this article. The data referenced in the article is for donations across the entire Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, which includes over 70 companies from Geico to Duracell to Fruit of the Loom, and also Brooks. The data also includes individual donations made by employees of those 70+ companies, which is not a representation of company policy or political objectives. I don't think this app is a reliable way to guide politically informed consumption choices.
Thanks kindly for this clarification!
It's a shame that Warren Buffet didn't have the guts to endorse Kamala, despite having previously backed Obama and Hillary.
Also, no Sonics fan (Democrat or Republican) should shop at Starbucks.
The app pulls both company contributions and individual employee contributions, so these percentages aren't necessarily showing you the political intentions of the company. Amazon shows 68% democrat. I searched for Meta, and the site showed me Proctor and Gamble, but if it were working properly it would have shown over 80% democrat. Brooks Running is displaying data for Berkshire Hathaway, a huge conglomerate that owns a lot of companies, among them Brooks. I wasn't able to find any documentation of the site's methodology, which to me is a red flag.
Opensecrets.org is the gold standard for aggregating this type of FEC data. Here are their tools for looking up specific organizations, along with detailed methodology.
The donations of employees do not represent the political affiliations of the company. If you really care about taking meaningful action as a consumer then do the following: (1) delete your Facebook, Instragram, and X accounts and (2) don't buy a Tesla.
This kind of divisive political litmus testing is exactly how we ensure that constructive dialogue becomes impossible. When we start judging every business, neighbor, and interaction through the lens of partisan donations, we're not building a better society – we're fracturing the connections that make communities work. How about we tell our children to check their classmates' family political donations before sharing Valentines?
This Jacobin approach of constantly judging everyone's moral purity and commitment to ideological causes, then seeking to excommunicate them from society, is destructive. If seeing an arbitrary figure like 54% of corporate donations going to “republicans” on some app is enough to drive us to label, exclude, and hate, perhaps the problem isn't with the store – it's with how we've lost perspective. What happened to loving our neighbors? What happened to overcoming differences rather than inventing morality ratings and casting judgment?
The drive to label everyone as friend or foe, to divide our community into political camps down to our grocery shopping choices, is precisely how we become what we claim to oppose. Instead of fostering extremism and self-righteousness, we should focus on building bridges and understanding. Real progress comes from engaging with those who think differently, not from creating ever-smaller circles of ideological purity.
Finally, if you put aside the moral and community-focused arguments against this and approach purely from a goal of driving political outcomes (seemingly the goal in the first place), the strategy described here is a loser. It was part of the platform that most Americans just voted down decisively. If we want to win political power, maybe start thinking of a constructive approach that will widen our coalition, not narrow it.
They're rounding up immigrants as we speak, but switching grocery stores is a bridge too far for you?
Just stay out of politics. It's what you're doing now with extra steps.
They're mostly rounding up criminal illegal aliens. Why are you opposed to that?
I'm pretty sure "handily" does not mean what you think it means.
You’re right. I used it incorrectly, likely an artifact of the editing room. I’ve updated it to “decisively.” Thanks.
Um, that’s really no better.
Despite being outspent roughly 3 to 1, Trump decisively won the poplular vote. He decisively won all 7 swing states. He decisively crushed Kamala in electoral votes. And he picked up a huge share of black and Latino votes, more than any GOP predecessor.
Yeah, "3 to 1" if you ignore Super PACs, which you shouldn't.
Well stated. It's so tiresome .