Sen. Sherrod Brown , who is facing a tough battle for a fourth term, got a surge in donations from Kroger and Albertsons executives after coming out for the merger.Sen. Sherrod Brown has a well-deserved reputation as an economic progressive and staunch union ally, whose focus on the “dignity of work” has helped him hold his seat for three terms in the increasingly Republican state of Ohio.
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, an anti-monopoly crusader, is suing to stop the Kroger-Albertsons merger, arguing that its reduction in consumer choice would violate the law.How Brown sells his support for the deal could help make or break his run for reelection at a time when high grocery prices drive voter discontent with the economy, even as inflation has cooled significantly.
In addition to the donations from Kroger and Albertsons executives following Brown’s remarks, the two companies’ corporate PACs are major contributors this cycle. Kroger’s PAC gave Brownto lobby on behalf of the merger in Congress. The Albertsons PAC, which had not previously given to Brown’s campaigns, contributed $5,000 toward Brown’s reelection in August.
“C&S will face multiple significant obstacles stitching together a viable business—let alone a successful competitor—from the assortment of divested stores, and any operational shortcoming would imperil competition in many local markets,” Khan, Slaughter, and Bedoya That’s on top of the near-term impact of store closures and layoffs likely to result from the Kroger-Albertsons merger. As when any big company acquires a competitor, Kroger is expected to wring profit from its purchase by shuttering stores in markets where an Albertsons location exists and laying off at least some of the unionized grocery clerks, warehouse workers and truck drivers employed at those locations.