Democratic candidates benefit from PPP loans they criticized

Several Democratic Senate challengers in key races who criticized the distribution and transparency of government Paycheck Protection Program loans indirectly benefited from the funds.

Last month, Cal Cunningham in North Carolina, Mark Kelly in Arizona, and Sara Gideon in Maine all took swipes at the program, which was created as part of the emergency coronavirus relief CARES Act and intended to help small businesses through the pandemic-related economic downturn. The program did not adequately distribute funds to the most in-need businesses or communities, they argued.