EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published after the deadliest mass shooting in American history occurred, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the wake of another mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives, readers resurfaced our reporting on social media. The contributions here continue to reflect the funds politicians had accepted from the gun lobby as we totaled them in October 2017. Feb. 15, 2018

Attention is being thrust back on the gun lobby as lawmakers give gun control measures a fresh look in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting – the deadliest in modern U.S. history. Gun rights groups overwhelmingly support GOP candidates, contributing $5.9 million into Republican campaigns in the 2016 election cycle, compared with $106,000 to those of Democrats. It’s also the most money gun lobbyists have given in a campaign year since at least 1990.

$5,900,000 given to Republicans in 2016 election cycle $106,000 given to Democrats in 2016 election cycle

The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan think tank that tracks money in politics, found that in 2016 more than half of the members of the House of Representatives — or 232 of the 435 — received money from gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America. That money went disproportionately to Republicans. Only nine Democrats received campaign contributions from these groups.

POLITICO tallied contributions to representatives in the 2016 election cycle. Some, like Ryan Zinke, no longer serve in Congress. Zinke now heads the Department of the Interior, but he received $79,000 in 2016, making him the recipient of the second-highest contributions, after Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.

Source: Center for Responsive Politics

POLITICO also analyzed gun lobbyist contributions from 1990 to 2017 to better understand what these contributions look like over the span of a politician’s career. We totaled contributions spanning nearly three decades and found Republicans consistently benefited; whereas, Democrats did not.

Of the 27 representatives who each received more than $100,000 since 1990, all were Republican. However, Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat who has represented Minnesota’s 7th District for 26 years, is close to making the list at $98,500.

Representatives who received more than $100,000 from gun rights groups No longer in the House of Representatives Name Amount Party District Years in office Paul Ryan $336,597 Republican Wisconsin, District 1 18 John Boehner $231,265 Republican Ohio, District 8 24 Don Young $195,272 Republican Alaska, At-Large District 44 John Thune $181,215 Republican South Dakota, At-large District 18 Pat Toomey $167,051 Republican Pennsylvania, District 15 12 Ken Calvert $144,466 Republican California, District 42 24 Roy Blunt $143,543 Republican Missouri, District 7 20 Denny Rehberg $138,959 Republican Montana, At-large District 12 Steve Pearce $129,250 Republican New Mexico, District 2 6 Saxby Chambliss $128,950 Republican Georgia, District 8 12 George Allen $127,556 Republican Virginia, District 7 8 Richard Burr $124,550 Republican North Carolina, District 5 22 Richard Pombo $122,694 Republican California, District 11 14 Pete Sessions $121,776 Republican Texas, District 32 14 Jim Inhofe $121,100 Republican Oklahoma, District 1 31 John Kline $119,887 Republican Minnesota, District 2 14 Rick Santorum $115,942 Republican Pennsylvania, District 18 16 John Doolittle $111,193 Republican California, District 4 16 Ed Royce $111,120 Republican California, District 39 24 Dean Heller $108,515 Republican District 2 4 Ron Paul $108,453 Republican Texas, 14 and 22 12 Michele Bachmann $108,218 Republican Minnesota, District 6 4 Rob Portman $107,727 Republican Ohio, District 2 20 Bob Goodlatte $104,900 Republican Virginia, District 6 24 Martha McSally $104,445 Republican Arizona, District 2 2 Mike Coffman $101,693 Republican Colorado, District 6 8 Bob Barr $101,473 Republican Georgia, District 7 8 Collin Peterson $98,500 Democrat Minnesota, District 7 26 Source: Center for Responsive Politics

CORRECTIONS:

An earlier version of this article said Zinke received $74,000 in the 2016 election cycle, but he actually received $79,000.



In an earlier version of this article, a $50 donation to Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) was originally listed as a contribution from a National Rifle Association employee due to a donor classification error on OpenSecrets.org. The donation was from an employee of the National Restaurant Association.