FEC filings show Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus contributed to Herschel Walker’s campaign, but there’s no record of a direct donation from the company.
The Home Depot is one of the largest home improvement retailers in the world. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. Since its founding, Home Depot has grown to employ nearly 500,000 people at more than 2,300 stores across North America.
In early October, several Twitter accounts began calling for a boycott of Home Depot stores after posts claimed that the retailer had donated $1.75 million to Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker’s campaign. Walker is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
THE QUESTION
Did Home Depot donate $1.75 million directly to Herschel Walker’s campaign?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, Home Depot did not donate $1.75 million directly to Herschel Walker’s campaign.
FEC filings show Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, who left the company more than 20 years ago, made two donations totaling $1.75 million to Walker’s campaign in 2021 and 2022. There are no reported donations to Walker’s campaign from Home Depot or The Home Depot PAC on the FEC’s website.
WHAT WE FOUND
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show Herschel Walker’s campaign received two donations totaling $1.75 million from Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus through a super PAC called 34N22 in 2021 and 2022. Marcus, who no longer works for the company, retired as chairman in 2002.
In an email, a Home Depot spokesperson told VERIFY that while the company “supports candidates and organizations on both sides of the aisle,” it had not donated to Walker or Warnock’s campaigns. Home Depot also addressed the claims on Twitter, telling people Marcus contributed to the Walker campaign, not the company.
“Our co-founder Bernie Marcus left Home Depot more than 20 years ago, and his views do not represent the company,” the spokesperson said.
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While Home Depot did not donate directly to Walker’s campaign, VERIFY found that the company did contribute $90,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in 2021 and 2022, according to the FEC and OpenSecrets.org. The NRSC is a national organization “solely devoted to strengthening the Republican Senate Majority and electing Republicans to the United States Senate,” its website says.
In early October, Politico reported that the NRSC had announced that it was splitting a new $8.5 million ad buy with the Walker campaign. The NRSC has also promoted a couple of Walker’s ads on its website in the past. It has also made ads against Warnock.
In addition to donating money to NRSC, FEC filings show The Home Depot PAC also contributed thousands of dollars to several Democratic candidates and committees across the country, including the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus in June 2022. Click here to review Home Depot PAC’s donations on the FEC website.
VERIFY reached out to the Walker campaign and the NRSC for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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