SAS’s Jim Goodnight won’t contribute to Republicans who fought election certification
SAS Institute co-founder and CEO James H. Goodnight donated more than $300,000 to Republican candidates, political action committees and party organizations in the 2020 election cycle.
But Goodnight is rethinking his political giving after the events of Jan. 6, including the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol and votes by many Republicans to object to certification of election results from certain states won by President Joe Biden.
“Any support by Jim Goodnight of elected officials predates any decision to vote against certifying the election,” said Trent Smith, a spokesman for the software company, in a written statement..
“He does not plan to continue support for elected officials who did not support the integrity of the election process, which is so vital to our democracy.”
Goodnight, who turned 78 on Jan. 6, had donated in 2019 to at least two members of the U.S. House who voted against certification of results that day — North Carolina’s Richard Hudson and Virginia Foxx. Goodnight donated more than $50,000 to Hudson and affiliated committees. He donated $2,800 to Foxx’s re-election bid.
All contribution data is from the Federal Election Commission website.
Hudson objected to the certification of Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Foxx objected to Pennsylvania.
In a statement announcing his decision to object, Hudson said there was “incontrovertible evidence of voter irregularity — if not outright fraud — in multiple states” and he was concerned about the impact of big tech and censorship during the election.
“For these reasons, I believe it is my Constitutional duty to object to certifying the Electoral College votes of certain states that violated their own election laws,” Hudson said.
Foxx said, in a statement on Jan. 7, that in Pennsylvania there was “blatant contravention of state law that occurred.” and she “could not vote in good conscience to certify electors.”
All states, including Arizona and Pennsylvania, certified their election results and dozens of court challenges brought by the Trump campaign and other Republicans were denied or dismissed in the weeks after the election.
The congressional certification votes were delayed for hours after extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol and pushed into sensitive areas of the building, including the Senate chamber. Five people died in the attack, including a police officer.
Representatives, senators and then-Vice President Mike Pence were rushed off the floor and into protected areas.
One week later, Trump — who had spoken to a group of protesters just before the attack and had, for months, claimed that fraud cost him the election — was impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting an insurrection.
His Senate trial begins on Feb. 8.
Other campaign donors reconsidering political contributions
Goodnight is not the first high-profile Republican donor to reconsider political donations after the attack and vote. Charlotte-based Duke Energy and Bank of America announced pauses from their political action committees earlier this month, The Charlotte Observer reported.
SAS Institute does not have a PAC and does not donate to individual candidates.
“We have paused corporate donations to associations to ensure that the groups we support are committed to upholding democracy,” Smith said.
Goodnight also donated to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and related committees (more than $110,000) and U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry and related committees (more than $50,000). Both Tillis and McHenry voted to certify the election results.
McHenry was the only one of North Carolina’s eight Republican members of the House who voted to certify all election results.
Goodnight also donated to national Republican organizations dedicated to winning the House (more than $50,000) and the Senate (more than $90,000).
In previous election cycles, Goodnight donated to non-North Carolina candidates, including then-Senate candidates Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rick Scott of Florida, both of whom won their elections in 2018.
Hawley was the first senator to announce he’d vote against certification. He voted against certification of both Arizona and Pennsylvania, while Scott voted against certifying Pennsylvania’s results.
Goodnight backed other Republicans as well in previous years, including Hudson, Foxx, Tillis, former North Carolina U.S. Reps. George Holding, Robert Pittenger and Renee Ellmers as well as national leaders Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and John Boehner.
SAS, the world’s largest privately held software business, is headquartered in Cary.
Originally an N.C. State University project to analyze agricultural research data, Goodnight and three co-founders created it as a private company in 1976. He has led it since. SAS employs more than 5,500 people at its Cary headquarters and nearly 14,000 worldwide, according to its website.
Goodnight owns the majority of the company and is worth an estimated $6.5 billion, according to Forbes. He ranked as the 95th wealthiest American and the richest North Carolinian in Forbes’ 2020 rankings.
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This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 1:05 PM with the headline "SAS’s Jim Goodnight won’t contribute to Republicans who fought election certification."
