When President Barack Obama vowed that he would push a strong response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders “regardless of the politics,” he left unsaid the name of gun control’s top political adversary: the National Rifle Association.
With over four million members and a war chest in the tens of millions, the NRA is one of the nation’s most influential — and feared — actors in American politics. Although the NRA’s Political Victory Fund actually performed dismally in the 2012 elections — with only 0.83 percent of the $11,159,493 it spent resulting in the NRA’s desired electoral outcome — the sheer amount of money that the NRA throws around makes it a serious political threat. Although the group has stayed largely silent in the aftermath of the shooting, it’s a safe bet that the NRA will soon lean on sympathetic politicians to stop the president and Congress from enacting any meaningful gun control measures.
With that in mind, here are the six current members of Congress who received the most money from the NRA during the 2012 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics:
Rep. Steve Fincher (R-TN)
Total Contributions: $9,900
Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH)
Total Contributions: $9,900
Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND)
Total Contributions: $7,450
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Total Contributions: $7,450
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO)
Total Contributions: $7,450
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID)
Total Contributions: $7,100
