Indiana's campaign finance database shows that DeVos's family and organizations have donated $2.5 million to Hoosier politicians in support of private school voucher policies since 2004, the year Mitch Daniels first ran for governor.
This total includes a $95,000 donation to Gov. Eric Holcomb's campaign. Now Gov. Holcomb has signed a letter of support for the DeVos nomination.
Mrs. DeVos has donated another $1.7 million between 2012 and 2014 to non-profit groups in Indiana which support private school vouchers, such as the Institute for Quality Education led by Fred Klipsch. Yes, you read that correctly: $1.7 million
Her American Federation for Children Action Fund, a political action committee she funds devoted to private school vouchers has contributed $1.2 million to the PAC linked to the Institute for Quality Education.
The same Action Fund also spent $50,000 in TV ads to support Tony Bennett when he lost the election for State Superintendent in 2012.
Quoting from the Star article: "All Children Matter, a group once led by DeVos and started by her husband that is now under fire in Ohio for failing to pay a $5.3 million campaign finance fine, gave nearly $1.2 million to fund an Indiana chapter of All Children Matter. The chapter was active in the state from 2004 to 2011, led by [Jim] Bopp and John Mutz....The group parceled out about $480,000 in contributions to Daniels and a number of state lawmakers, including Rep. Robert Behning and House Speaker Brian Bosma, who went on to be sponsors of Indiana's voucher law. Of the House committee that originated the voucher legislation, a majority of the Republican members had at one time received money from the DeVos group." (Star, 1/15/17)
Senator Todd Young is a member of the Senate Committee that will be voting on the nomination on Tuesday, and campaign finance reform groups have called on him "to recuse himself from voting on her nomination because he's accepted contributions from DeVos."
(From Indiana Coalition for Public Education, 1/22/17)