Shaun McCutcheon


Shaun McCutcheon is a businessman and electrical engineer from suburban Birmingham, Alabama. He is 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 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 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.

Television

On August 5, 2018, McCutcheon was featured on a segment of season one episode four of Sacha Baron Cohen's Who is America?. In the segment, McCutcheon and his employee Zan are seen being trained, against Islamic terror attacks, by one of Baron Cohen's alter egos, Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad. By Baron Cohen's goading, they shielded themselves with pork and a riot shield with a cropped still image of gay pornography. McCutcheon also converted his cubicle into an imitation of a mosque while dressing as a stereotypical Muslim, and specifically as a snake charmer.