For Maryland Lawmakers, Campaign Funding Loosely Tied to Committee Membership

Many of Maryland's representatives in the U.S. House and Senate get a significant portion of their campaign funding from industries affected by the committees on which they sit. For example, nearly a quarter of Sen. Ben Cardin's contributions came from the financial sector, which is affected by legislation overseen by the Finance Committee on which Cardin sits.

Only the donations in 2013 and 2014 from the top five sectors for each U.S. House member are shown. Donations from 2009 to 2014 are shown for both senators. The percentages were calculated from all donations where the donor's industry is known — about 90 percent of contributions for each lawmaker. The "other" category includes retirees, educators and government employees. Source: Open Secrets.