According to Capitol Advantage, Virginia Foxx has gotten $267,913 from 149 PACs for the 05-06 election cycle.  The smallest amount ($200) came from the American Association for Marriage and the largest amount ($12,500) came from 21st Century Pac.  Here’s her top 15 PAC contributors

1. 21st Century Pac, $12,500
2. Every Republican is Crucial (Ericpac), $10,000
3. RJ Reynolds Political Action Committee; Reynolds American Inc., $9,000
4. Together for our Majority PAC (Tompac), $5,000
5. Wachovia Corporation Employees Good Government Federal Fund, $5,000
6. Promoting Republicans You Can Elect Project (Pryce Project), $5,000
7. Dealers Election Action Committee of the National Automotive Dealers Association, $5,000
8. Freshman Pac, $5,000
9. Credit Union Legislative Action Council of Cuna, $5,000
10. Keep Our Majority Pac, $5,000
11. Rely on Your Beliefs Fund, $5,000
12. Branch Bank & Trust PAC, $5,000
13. Duke Energy Corporation PAC, $5,000
14. Americans for a Republican Majority PAC, $5,000
15. The Freedom Project, $4,751

Other notable PACs that contributed some grease were the Lorillard Tobacco Company Public Affairs Committee ($3,750), Dell Inc. Employee Pac ($2,500), Petroleum Marketers Association of America/Small Biz Committee ($1,500), Exxonmobil Corporation PAC ($1,000), and Tyco International Inc. Employees PAC ($500).

Given Foxx’s strong and consistent stand on immigration reform I was a little surprised to see all the agricultural organizations that gave money to her.  Those  include

• American Crystal Suger Company PAC ($3,000)
• Dairy Farmers of America Inc. Depac ($3,000)
• Weyerhauser Co. PAC ($2,000)
• NC Farm Bureau Farmpac ($2,000)
• National Council of Farmer Cooperatives ($1,000)
• Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperation ($1,000)
• American Sugarbeet Growers Association PAC ($1,000)
• North Carolina Pork Council Pac ($1,000)
• Great Lakes Sugarbeet Growers PAC ($1,000)
• Western Peanut Growers PAC ($1,000)
• American Nursery and Landscape Assn. PAC ($1,000)
• United Egg Association ($1,000)
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association PAC ($1,000)
• Florida Sugar Cane League PAC ($500)
• Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative PAC ($500)
• National Chicken Council PAC ($500)
• National Turkey Federation PAC ($500)
• American Sugar Cane League of USA ($500)
• Southern Cottongrowers ($500)
• National Milk Producers Federation Pac ($500)
• National Pork Producers Council ($500)

By my count that’s over $20k from ag-related PACs.  The reason that is interesting to me is that she is very strong on immigration reform and is a hard-liner on illegal aliens.  On the other hand agriculture is one of the leading employers/benefactors of illegal alien labor (along with construction).  Strange. **Update** Okay, so I might be an idiot.  She sits on the House Agriculture committee, in which case the donations make sense.  On the other hand I do wonder how the average ag-business person feels about her immigration stance?

**Update #2** In an interview in the Winston-Salem Journal Foxx denied that she had any connections to oil (her opponent Roger Sharpe said she is in the oil companies’ pocket), but she’s gotten some contributions from oil company PACs including ExxonMobil.  It’s a small amount of money so I’d say Sharpe better find another bone to pick. He also better get busy with his fundraising because Foxx has a serious war-chest and as of the last election filings he has, uh, not so much.