General Mills withdraws support from those who voted against certifying election

General Mills suspended political donations to federal lawmakers who voted last week to override the results of the U.S. presidential election.

The decision, made Wednesday by the Golden Valley-based food maker's political action committee, and confirmed by a company spokeswoman Thursday, comes a few days after Richfield-based Best Buy made a similar move. Many large U.S. companies, wary of the association, have cut ties with members of Congress who gave credence to false claims of a rigged or fraudulent election by voting against certifying the Electoral College results.

Those claims helped fuel the attack on the U.S. Capitol last week that left five people, including a police officer, dead.

In Minnesota, Republican Reps. Jim Hagedorn and Michelle Fischbach voted against the certification of the votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.

General Mills PAC donated $3,000 to Hagedorn in the 2019-20 campaign cycle, according to federal elections data. But the company supported Fischbach's opponent, Democrat Collin Peterson, contributing $10,000 to his campaign during the election.

As chairman of the U.S. House committee on Agriculture, Peterson was the most powerful congressional delegate on policies affecting food, agriculture and rural communities. Fischbach defeated him in November, ending a 30-year career representing Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District.

Other Minnesota companies have taken a wait-and-see approach on campaign contributions, temporarily halting political donations, but stopping short of severing ties with specific lawmakers.

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767