Washington, D.C.—The six members of Congress now vying for Republican leadership in the House—Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio), Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Kevin McCarthy (R-Ohio), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), and Tom Price (R-Ga.)—represent roughly $38 million in campaign contributions in the 2010 cycle alone, according to Public Campaign analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Some of the biggest industries giving to these members in the 2010 cycle include insurance ($1,551,374), securities ($1,378,833), commercial banks ($570,600), and lobbyists ($496,362). This data includes fundraising for their candidate committees and leadership political action committees (PACs) through the first three cycles of 2010.

“The Republican caucus achieved the majority with the help of tens of millions of dollars in special interest cash. Big contributors invested heavily in these potential caucus leaders,” said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign. “When these donors come calling for their return on investment, voters better hope these leaders remember they were elected by the people and not their big donors.”

Key data points:

• Speaker-to-be John Boehner, whose close relationship with lobbyists “representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses“ was profiled recently by the New York Times, raised $11.1 million in 2010 for his candidate and leadership committees.
• Potential Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who once bragged of the “buyers’ remorse” of Wall Street donors, received at least $726,450 from securities and investment firms in 2010.
• Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who is running for majority whip, received at least $57,000 from lobbyists this cycle. He raised nearly $3.1 million overall, more than doubling his 2008 fundraising.
• Rep. Jeb Hensarling, who is vying for conference chairman, raised at least $2,036,253 in the 2010 cycle, including $126,650 from commercial banks, $106,450 from the securities and investment sector, and $23,350 from lobbyists.
• Rep. Michele Bachmann, who will also run for conference chair, has raised at least $11, 479,860 this election cycle. Including $77,000 from the insurance industry, $61,000 from real estate, and $40,050 from pharmaceutical companies.
• Potential Policy Committee Chair Tom Price, who faces investigation by the House Ethics Committee due to his fundraising around the financial reform debate, raised at least $140,733 from securities and investment firms, the credit sector, and commercial banks.

“Until we end this cash-and-carry system of campaign financing, voters will never be sure who their members of Congress will represent in Washington, D.C,” said Nyhart. “Leaders in both parties should look to pass the Fair Elections Now Act to put elections back in the hands of voters.”

The Fair Elections Now Act would allow candidates to run competitive campaigns for office by relying on small donations from people back home. Fair Elections candidates could focus on their constituents and the many challenges facing our country instead of dialing for dollars or attend fundraisers halfway around the country.

Learn more at www.publicampaign.org.

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Public Campaign is a national, nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising the voice of everyday Americans in the political process by restoring our government to one that is, of, by, and for the people through common sense campaign finance legislation.