Republicans reaped nearly $3.3 million in federal political contributions from the medtech industry in the 2017-18 election cycle, compared with $1.85 million for Democrats, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit campaign finance watchdog group.
Medtech has “historically been a little more Republican than the average industry,” said Andrew Mayersohn, committees researcher at the center, which runs the opensecrets.orgwebsite. Indeed, Republicans pulled in more than $4.6 million in contributions in the 2015-16 election cycle, compared with $2.85 million for Democrats.
Federal law prohibits corporations from making political contributions, but individuals and political action committees (PACs) associated with corporations tend to contribute to members of Congress who represent the district or state where that company is located, Mayersohn added. The center’s data also revealed that medtech executives, employees, immediate family members and PACs contributed to members of Congressional committees that influence policy affecting the industry, such as the medical device tax.
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