Full list of Republican senators who receive funding from the NRA
- Mitt Romney (Utah) $13,647,676
- Richard Burr (North Carolina) $6,987,380
- Roy Blunt (Missouri) $4,555,722
- Thom Tillis (North Carolina) $4,421,333
- Marco Rubio (Florida) $3,303,355
- Joni Ernst (Iowa) $3,124,773
- Rob Portman (Ohio) $3,063,327
- Todd C. Young (Indiana) $2,897,582
- Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) $2,867,074
- Tom Cotton (Arkansas) $1,968,714
- Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania) $1,475,448
- Josh Hawley (Missouri) $1,391,548
- Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee) $1,306,130
- Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) $1,269,486
- Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) $1,267,139
- Mike Braun (Indiana) $1,249,967
- John Thune (South Dakota) $638,942
- Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia) $341,738
- Richard Shelby (Alabama) $258,514
- Chuck Grassley (Iowa) $226,007
- John Neely Kennedy (Louisiana) $215,788
- Ted Cruz (Texas) $176,274
- Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) $146,262
- Steve Daines (Montana) $123,711
- Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi) $109,547
- Roger Wicker (Mississippi) $106,680
- Rand Paul (Kentucky) $104,456
- Mike Rounds (South Dakota) $95,049
- John Boozman (Arkansas) $82,352
- John Cornyn (Texas) $78,945
- Ben Sasse (Nebraska) $68,623
- Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma) $66,758
- Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) $55,961
- Mike Crapo (Idaho) $55,039
- Jerry Moran (Kansas) $34,718
- John Barrasso (Wyoming) $26,989
- John Hoeven (North Dakota) $22,050
- Susan Collins (Maine) $19,638
- James Lankford (Oklahoma) $18,955
- Jim Risch (Idaho) $18,850
- Tim Scott (South Carolina) $18,513
- Kevin Cramer (North Dakota) $13,255
And that’s only the NRA. Increasingly there other gun rights groups also buying votes from these senators. Is it any wonder “our” elected officials work like crazy to keep their jobs? Is it any wonder that reelection is always uppermost in their minds?
Perhaps reelection is not a given. Perhaps Republican voters will be disenchanted. Perhaps some Democrats will mount meaningful opposition. Perhaps moderates and unaffiliateds will choose to vote a Republican out instead of a Democrat in. There has been some crossover voting in some states.
Perhaps we’ll get more and better gun control when Congress reconvenes.
And perhaps pigs will fly.
Interesting that Romney heads the list. Maybe it’s because he is the most likely to slip and fall into common sense?
That surprised me too. I had him pegged as one of the more reasonable, morally upright senators. What a sham.
I noticed Romney and some other surprises, for example Cruz and Barasso, but maybe the NRA’s largesse varies with the state the recipient is representing. In Texas and Wyoming, less of a contest for a Republican gun-toter and in Utah where Democrats have won seats at times.
I was pleased to see that neither of my Virginia Senators is on the list but I have to wonder what that really means.
I’ve no doubt the NRA pays more to those whose vote needs more “persuading,” but not being familiar with Romney’s situation, I don’t know why he got so much. If he’s as highly principled as he’d have us believe, one would expect he’d take no money for voting his conscience.
Currently both Colorado senators are Dems. But it’s a purple state, so who knows what the future will bring.
Omigosh, where is my brain? I realized belatedly that the list is of course only the Republicans,
Our Virginia Senators are both Dems. I wonder if it’s ONLY Republicans who get a little cash from the NRA. Not huge amounts, surely.
I suppose if the NRA thought it could sway a vote, they might try. It occurred to me that if either of our senators comes up against a pro-gun Republican, the NRA might jump in with both feet to support that Republican’s election bid.
Even though I support some firearms reforms that the NRA opposes, I’d take their money.
I’ve been wondering if some of these people might just kinda sorta go along to get some NRA money. Maybe talk the talk but not always walk the walk when it’s time to vote.