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TRICK OR TREAT: As people flock to the nearest grocery store to grab some extra candy for Halloween, candy companies are dishing out some money of their own this election cycle.

Leading the way among sugary treat companies is Nestle, which has spent almost $1.4 million lobbying on food industry, agriculture and transportation issues, among others, according to Center for Responsive Politics data.

The Swiss company also has contributed $125,364 to political candidates, and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is at the top of the list, receiving $18,550. President Barack Obama is the second-largest recipient with $7,700.

Despite not spending a dime lobbying, Jelly Belly Candy also has been generous toward political candidates, though not the presidential frontrunners, spending $135,450 on campaign contributions. Former Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry sits at the top of the list, receiving $7,000, while Republican Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Elizabeth Emken, the Republican who’s waging an uphill battle to unseat Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.) each received $5,000 donations.

Hailing from Pennsylvania, the Hershey Company‘s mere $24,602 in campaign funding is nothing compared to its six-digit lobbying expenditures. Up from $570,000 in 2011 to $777,000 this year, the largest North American chocolate manufacturer’s top lobbying interests are similar to Nestle’s, but its top concern is trade followed by labor, antitrust and workplace issues.

ROMNEY ATTACKS AUTO BAILOUT: Despite canceling campaign events Monday and Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is making last-minute efforts to win the hearts and votes of Ohio constituents.

In a recently released ad, Romney attacks President Barack Obama for his auto industry bailout, which is viewed favorably by autoworkers in Ohio and Michigan. The ad argues that the sale of Chrysler — one of the Big Three companies along with Ford Motor Company and General Motors — will lead to more jobs abroad in China instead of keeping them in the states.

Romney also told Ohioans last week that Jeep, a Chrylser brand, is considering moving production to China, but several media reports identified that statement as incorrect, saying the company is discussing an increase in production in China for sales within that country — not moving jobs from the U.S.

Almost immediately after Romney’s ad came out, the Obama campaign released an ad of its own calling out Romney for his false claims about outsourcing to China. The response ad also mentions Romney’s op-ed piece in The New York Times from November 2008 titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, as of Oct. 17, the Romney campaign had spent $336 million of his almost $390 million raised. Obama has raised and spent more than his opponent — $632 million and $540 million, respectively. But in Ohio, donors favor the Republican over the president in contributions, $9.6 million to $4.3 million

MEDICAL RESEARCH COMPANY KNOWS ITS WAY AROUND THE LEGISLATIVE BODY: For followers of the medical research world, the name “Medtronic” has become all too familiar over the years, becoming synonymous not only with a company geared toward easing pain but also one that’s come under fire for possibly fraudulent studies.

The Senate Finance Committee last week charged that Medtronic, a medical company that relieves pain with technology, with manipulating studies on its spine-fusion product and failing to disclose its financial relationship with the researchers and doctors performing the studies. Such controversies have followed Medtronic around sporadically since at least 2005, when it was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice in connection with allegations that it may have paid doctors to use its products.

Then in 2009, reports revealed that a study on a product being used to help heal soldiers with shattered limbs overstated its efficacy, and that Medtronic had paid $850,000 to the lead author. The same thing happened with another product being used to help rebuild spines in 2010, and in 2011, scientists found a link between that product and cancer. The spine regeneration product was the subject of the Senate’s inquiry.

All those questions call for a robust Washington presence, and Medtronic indeed has that. The company spent $2.6 million lobbing in 2012 and nearly $5 million in 2011, ranking within CRP’s top 100 lobbying organizations.

All of its 12 lobbyists have gone through the revolving door, previously working for prominent senators, the FDA, the Committee on Veteran Affairs, or others.



The item above was contributed by Michelle Merlin.

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Images: Hershey’s chocolate via flickr user slgckgc; Medtronic’s EnRythm device helps hearts beat via flickr user stev.ie.



For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: [email protected]

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