Democratic Arizona Representative (and Senate candidate) Ruben Gallego routinely attacks Independent Kyrsten Sinema for being too cozy with the pharmaceutical business and against universal healthcare coverage.
In spite of his frequent criticism of big pharma and the healthcare business, Gallego has taken thousands of dollars in donations from people and PACs affiliated with these groups.
Since Gallego’s first campaign for Congress, his camp has taken more than $30,000 from pharmaceutical business PACs, making the health sector the fourth-largest source of contributions for his reelection fight in 2022.
He accepted money from pharmaceutical companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly, which Democrats have criticized for allegedly engaging in price gouging.
While Democrats battled hard to incorporate a price-fixing mechanism in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Gallego criticized Sinema for initially rejecting it.
Kyrsten Sinema voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which would have allowed for negotiations on the cost of prescription medications. Earlier this year, in April, Gallego tweeted that Sinema was unsuitable to govern Arizona because she supported Big Pharma at the expense of the elderly on a fixed income.
When asked if Gallego would refund campaign money from pharmaceutical firms or workers, the Gallego campaign did not provide any reply. According to OpenSecrets, he also received over $85,000 from health industry workers during the 2022 election cycle.
Gallego has taken money from sectors he regularly criticizes yet is campaigning as a left-wing populist alternative to the centrist Sinema. More than $106,000 was donated to him by 2023’s first quarter from workers at major banks and companies. Compared to other professions, attorneys contributed the most to Gallego’s Q1 2023 fundraising total.
As of the first quarter of 2023, Gallego had over $2.7 million in the bank and had raised over $3.7 million. Sinema has over $9.9 million in the bank after raising $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2023.
