How Much Cash Virginia's Delegation Gets From Pro, Anti Gun Lobby

RICHMOND, VA — With debates over gun rights once again heating up, Patch went through financial filings to see how much money each member of the Virginia delegation takes in from groups seeking to influence their votes. Three members of the state's 13-person Congressional delegation have not taken any money from either side of the gun issue, while Republican Bob Goodlatte is the only representative to have accepted over $100,000 from the lobbyists.

The groups that oppose nearly any form of gun restrictions, led by the NRA, spend far more money than groups that want tightened controls on guns. The NRA side of the debate has also wielded far more power.
In the period covered in the chart – from 1989 through February 1, 2018 – the groups fighting gun restrictions donated $13,195,914 to the 531 current members of the United States Congress (there are four vacancies in the House of Representatives) while the other side donated $637,558.

Sandy Hook Promise and Giffords PAC are perhaps the most notable groups trying to restrict who can get what guns and how. Sandy Hook was formed after Newtown and Giffords PAC was formed by Gabby Giffords, the former Representative from Arizona who survived an assassination attempt. Six people killed and 12 others were injured.

Giffords' group is the most active of those groups in donating to candidates but they have only been around since December 2012 when Giffords and her husband announced it in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre. Sandy Hook Promise was formed around the same time.

The other prominent group, Everytown for Gun Safety, was formed by Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

So, how much money makes its way to your representatives or senators? Take a look, keeping in mind a couple of things:

1. The numbers are cumulative from 1989 through February 1, 2018. The totals include only the money received by the person in their current office. For instance, several senators started out as members of the House of Representatives. The chart below only takes into account what they have received as a senator.
2. The numbers presented here are based on analysis performed by the Center for Responsive Politics – a non-partisan group that tracks money in politics and is relied on by media outlets up and down the spectrum and checked against FEC filings.
3. CRP says that the numbers are based on donors – individuals, organizations, and political actions committees – who gave $200 or more to specific candidates. The money does not include indirect contributions to third-party groups that might be supporting a candidate.

So, who got how much?

Reporting by Patch Editor Colin Miner

Photo via Shutterstock