Shaun McCutcheon is a businessman and electrical engineer from suburban

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. He is the inventor and developer of innovative industrial electric devices including a large-scale imploding circuit breaker and a multi-polar electric motor and generator. He is also the successful plaintiff in the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

case '' McCutcheon v. FEC'', a landmark campaign finance decision.

Career

After graduating from the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, McCutcheon began working as an electrical engineer, installing motor drives and electrical equipment for manufacturing industries. In 1996, he founded Coalmont Electrical Development Corporation, an engineering firm specializing in complex electrical systems. McCutcheon currently serves as Coalmont’s CEO.

''McCutcheon v. FEC''

McCutcheon rose to national prominence when he filed a lawsuit against the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

(FEC) in 2012. McCutcheon specifically challenged the FEC’s “aggregate contribution limits,” which had imposed a cap on contributions an individual could make over a two-year period to national party and federal candidate committees. With the help of the attorney and campaign finance expert Dan Backer and the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

, McCutcheon’s case rose to the Supreme Court. In 2014, the Court ruled in McCutcheon’s favor by a 5-4 margin, claiming the FEC’s aggregate contribution limits violated the First Amendment.

Political activity

McCutcheon is a Republican donor and conservative activist. In May 2020, McCutcheon filed to run for president as a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

In popular culture

McCutcheon made frequent appearances as himself on news programs and in other forums to defend the rights of donors to give to politicians.

In film and television

On episode 4 of the satirical comedy show Who Is America? the character Erran Morad taught Shaun McCutcheon how to defend an office from Islamic terrorists by wielding pork and a picture of two men apparently having anal sex as shields.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCutcheon, Shaun Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American chief executives American electrical engineers Georgia Tech alumni Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama