Four Democratic presidential contenders have accepted campaign contributions from lobbyists who represent foreign interests, according to a new report by the San Jose Mercury News. 
The Democratic establishment's pick to challenge Republican senator Joni Ernst in Iowa took aim at her this week for receiving contributions from the pharmaceutical industry. But her own disclosures show she received big cash from the industry's top lobbyists. 
Democrat Jaime Harrison, a well-connected former corporate lobbyist running to unseat Republican senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, received over $15,000 from at least two dozen lobbyists during the second quarter of 2019. 
Many Democratic presidential candidates who vowed to reject lobbyist money from their campaigns were quick to throw their support behind Democrat Jaime Harrison, a well-connected former corporate lobbyist running to unseat Republican senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. 
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit is set to hear a case Friday in which a citizen activist who habitually walks the halls of the state capitol in Missouri to talk to elected lawmakers about political issues was later declared by a state ethics commission to be a lobbyist. 
Mark Kelly, a Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona, is scheduled later this month to attend a high-dollar fundraiser hosted by one of the city's top lobbying firms, despite his pledge not to take "a dime of corporate PAC money."
With Monday marking the ninth anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, first-term Rep. Gil Cisneros (D., Calif.) called on Congress to support campaign finance reform, despite his campaign benefitting from Democratic super PACs, special interest groups, and tens of thousands of dollars from the financial services industry.
Liberal billionaire George Soros has eclipsed a personal record amount on lobbying throughout the first three quarters of the year and has already spent $4 million more than he did throughout the entirety of last year—his previous yearly record—disclosure forms show. 
The Associated Press confirmed a television advertisement released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee correctly pointed out Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.) "was No. 1 in Cash from Lobbyists in 2018." 