How Much Money Florida's Delegation Gets In Gun Control Debate

With debates over gun rights once again heating up, Patch went through financial filings to see how much money each member of the Florida delegation takes in from groups trying to influence their votes.

The groups that oppose nearly any form of gun restrictions, led by the NRA, spend far more money than groups that want tightened controls on guns. The NRA side of the debate has also wielded far more power.

In the period covered in the chart – from 1989 through Feb. 1, 2018 – the groups fighting gun restrictions donated about $13 million to the 531 current members of Congress (there are four vacancies in the House of Representatives) while the other side donated $637,558.

Sen. Marco Rubio leads the Florida delegation in donations from groups opposing gun control. The senator has received at least $251,729 in political donations since being elected to the Senate. In a town hall meeting Wednesday night, Rubio defended accepting contributions from the National Rifle Association.

"The influence of these groups comes not from money," Rubio said. ""The influence comes from the millions of people that agree with the agenda, the millions of Americans that support the NRA."

Rubio added: "There's money on both sides of every issue in America," Rubio said. "I will always accept the help of anyone who agrees with my agenda."

The donations to Rubio do not include expenditures by the NRA to defeat his election opponents, which surpassed $2 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (opensecrets.org).

Sen. Bill Nelson received no money from groups opposing gun control, but did get $11,577 in contributions from groups lobbying for gun restrictions. Rubio got $3,950 from pro gun control groups.

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Sandy Hook Promise and Giffords PAC are perhaps the most notable groups trying to restrict who can get guns and how. Sandy Hook was formed after Newtown and Giffords PAC was formed by Gabby Giffords, the former Representative from Arizona who survived an assassination attempt. Six people killed and 12 others were injured.

Giffords’ group is the most active of those groups in donating to candidates but they have only been around since December 2012 when Giffords and her husband announced it in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre. Sandy Hook Promise was formed around the same time.

The other prominent group, Everytown for Gun Safety, was formed by Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

So, how much money makes its way to your representatives? Take a look, keeping in mind a couple of things:

1. The numbers are cumulative from 1989 through Feb. 1, 2018. The totals include only the money received by the person in their current office. For instance, several senators started out as members of the House of Representatives. The chart below only takes into account what they have received as a senator.
2. The numbers presented here are based on analysis performed by the Center for Responsive Politics – a non-partisan group that tracks money in politics and is relied on by media outlets up and down the spectrum and checked against FEC filings.
3. CRP says that the numbers are based on donors – individuals, organizations, and political action committees – who gave $200 or more to specific candidates. The money does not include indirect contributions to third-party groups that might be supporting a candidate.

So, who got how much?

Name Party /Office/Gun Rights Money/Gun Control Money

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