Former Democratic congressman Steven Horsford slammed the pharmaceutical lobby on Monday for "raking in record profits," without mentioning he took over $70,000 in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry while he was in office.
Horsford is running for his old House seat in Nevada's 4th Congressional District, which he lost in 2014 to Republican Cresent Hardy. Horsford stayed in Washington, D.C., working as a lobbyist until he declared his candidacy after Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D., Nev.) announced he wasn't going to run for re-election due to sexual harassment allegations.
"Today, I announced a plan to make prescription drugs more affordable. The pharmaceutical lobby is raking in record profits: they're now a trillion dollar industry. It's time to fight back!" tweeted Horsford, including a link to his plan to make prescription drugs more affordable.
Today, I announced a plan to make prescription drugs more affordable. The pharmaceutical lobby is raking in record profits: they're now a trillion dollar industry.
It's time to fight back! #NV04 https://t.co/xVKeRpo4tm pic.twitter.com/GjdEmRV3gQ
— Steven Horsford (@StevenHorsford) April 30, 2018
Horsford outlined his plan in three steps, but he never mentioned he took $39,950 from pharmaceutical products groups and $32,750 from pharmaceutical manufacturing groups while in Congress.
Rep. Dina Titus (D., Nev.) was asked about Horsford's potential candidacy back in December, but she was not supportive of him trying to regain his seat, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
"(Horsford’s) been putting out feelers. He called me," Titus said. "So I think he is interested. I’m not sure if he can win or not. He lost in a year that was bad for Democrats, but it was a nine-point district (Democrats’ voter registration advantage)."
"You can kind of seeing the ads (political advertisements against Horsford) writing themselves," Titus added, referencing Horsford becoming a lobbyist after his 2014 defeat.