Shaun McCutcheon

Shaun McCutcheon is a businessman and electrical engineer from suburban Birmingham, Alabama. 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 case McCutcheon v. FEC, a landmark campaign finance decision.

Career
After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology, 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 (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, 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.

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 (as portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen) teaches 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.