> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://readsludge.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Amgen Requested Refund From Hyde-Smith, but Its CEO Donated to Party Committee Supporting Her - URL: https://readsludge.com/2018/11/23/amgen-requested-refund-from-hyde-smith-but-its-ceo-donated-to-super-pac-supporting-her/ - Published: 2018-11-23T17:32:06.000Z - Updated: 2023-08-09T02:33:39.000Z - Description: Amgen’s PAC asked for a refund after Hyde-Smith made an enthusiastic remark about a public hanging. - Author: Alex Kotch - Tags: 2018 Midterms, Elections, hate, Mississippi, #wordpress, #Import 2023-07-20 16:54 Pharmaceutical company Amgen’s political action committee requested a refund of its contribution to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-Miss.) campaign after the senator made a racist comment, but the company’s CEO has donated to the Senate’s chief fundraising committee that is supporting her. Talking about a supporter to a small audience at a campaign event on Nov. 2, Hyde-Smith said, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” The crowd laughed. Bobby Moak, chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, told Sludge, “I never even heard that growing up. [It’s not even in the repertoire down here](https://readsludge.com/2018/11/16/mississippi-senate-race-where-is-the-national-democratic-party/).” After news spread of Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s unprompted comment, Judd Legum of [Popular Information](https://popular.info/) reported that several corporate political action committees had donated to her campaign around the time she made the comments. Hyde-Smith faces Democratic challenger Mike Espy, who would be the first black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, in [a Nov. 27 runoff](https://readsludge.com/2018/11/16/mississippi-senate-race-where-is-the-national-democratic-party/). Earlier this week, several of the companies whose contributions were noted by Legum, including Amgen, AT&T, Pfizer and Walmart, said that Hyde-Smith’s remarks didn’t reflect their companies’ values and, as a result, they would ask for a refund of their donations. “Amgen is committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion. We believe that an environment of diversity and inclusion fosters innovation, which drives our ability to serve patients,” an Amgen spokeswoman [told](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/21/pfizer-asks-contribution-back-from-hyde-smith-sean-parker-does-not.html) CNBC in explaining the company’s refund request. The company’s PAC contributed $4,000 to Hyde-Smith’s campaign during the 2017-18 election cycle, including [$2,000](http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201811159133686798) on Nov. 1\. ![]( /content/images/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-23-at-2.50.23-PM.png) Amgen PAC’s recent donation to Hyde Smith, listed in a Federal Election Commission report. Federal Election Commission A Sludge review of campaign finance records found that Amgen chairman and CEO Robert Bradway [donated $10,000](http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201810259130956081) on Oct. 9 to the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC), the main Senate Republican fundraising group that has spent nearly $1.8 million on ads supporting Hyde-Smith since Nov. 7. The NRSC spent a lot of money since that donation boosting other candidates, so there’s no way to determine exactly what Bradway’s $10,000 was used for. Amgen did not immediately respond to questions about whether Bradway knew the NRSC was spending in favor of Hyde-Smith and if he would ask for a donation refund. Bradway is a [frequent political donor](https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=robert+bradway&order=desc&sort=D), giving money to both major parties. Independent political spending groups, mostly super PACs, have spent over $4.5 million on the race since the Nov. 7 general election, with 81 percent of that spending benefiting Hyde-Smith, according to Sludge’s review of Federal Election Committee reports. ![]( /content/images/2018/11/GettyImages-490870068.jpg) Amgen Chairman & CEO Bob Bradway attends the 2015 L.A.’s Promise Gala at Universal Studios Hollywood on September 30, 2015 in Universal City, Calif. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images # **‘Mississippi History at its Best!”** After being exposed for bringing up a public hanging while running against a black Democrat in a state with an especially extensive history of lynching, Hyde-Smith was initially unapologetic. She [said](https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/12/politics/gop-senator-hyde-smith-public-hanging-mississippi/index.html), “Any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous.” She later issued a [tepid apology](https://thinkprogress.org/mississippi-hyde-smith-finally-apologizes-public-hanging-comments-e144cc1fa7de/) during a debate on Tuesday. Attempting to defend Hyde-Smith, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant offered a curious “whataboutism,” claiming that he was “confused about where the outrage is at about 20 million African-American children that have been aborted,” something he called “[black genocide](http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2018/nov/12/governor-calls-abortion-black-genocide-defends-hyd/).” Espy called Hyde-Smith’s comment “reprehensible.” ![]( /content/images/2018/11/10370802_687776747970305_657521756024408879_n1.jpg) Hyde-Smith poses at Jefferson Davis’ estate dressed in a Confederate hat and holding a 19th century rifle. Cindy Hyde-Smith/Facebook Hyde-Smith has a record of embracing Confederate history, as the Washington Post [reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cindy-hyde-smith-has-embraced-confederate-history-more-than-once-in-her-political-career/2018/11/22/2d8ac440-ed0c-11e8-baac-2a674e91502b%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.cf1c368cba86). As a Mississippi state senator in 2001, she proposed a bill to rename part of a highway after the Confederate States’ only president, Jefferson Davis. In 2014, Hyde-Smith visited Davis’ estate, where she put on a Confederate hat and posed for a photo holding a Civil War-era rifle. She [posted](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=687776747970305&set=pcb.687779844636662&type=3&theater) the photo on Facebook, writing, “Mississippi history at its best!” In 2016, she gave a Confederate history group the prize for best float at a community parade. If Hyde-Smith, who is the favorite, wins, Republicans will extend their majority in the Senate to 53 members. *This article was updated to reflect that the NRSC is a party committee, not a super PAC.*