Politico: Jack Kingston top recipient of defense industry contributions, John Barrow #9

1. Rep. Jack Kingston

The Republican congressman is running for the Georgia Senate seat currently held by retiring Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, an industry darling and longtime champion of Lockheed Martin, which has major plants in the state.

Kingston, a fiscal conservative who serves on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, faces a crowded GOP primary. His PAC has drawn $65,000 this election cycle from top defense firms, signaling that the industry prefers him to a far-right challenger.

“We’ve been aggressively fundraising early in the cycle,” Kingston told POLITICO. “I think that they are interested in my candidacy because they believe that I am pro-military and I have four installations in my district.”

If he wins the primary, Kingston could face off against Michelle Nunn, the CEO of a nonprofit organization headquartered in Atlanta, who’s been listed by The Associated Press as a possible Democratic candidate for the Georgia Senate seat. She’s also the daughter of former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn, who served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1987 to 1995.

9. Rep. John Barrow

Barrow, representing a competitive Georgia district, is a staunch advocate for veterans. Co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, Barrow is a centrist Democrat in a conservative district — one that voted for Mitt Romney by a margin of nearly 8 percentage points.

The NRCC, which spent $1.5 million trying to defeat Barrow in 2012, according to the National Journal, has again targeted him as a vulnerable Democrat for the 2014 election cycle. Top defense firms have donated $39,000 to his PAC for 2014.

via Top 10 Hill recipients of defense contributions – Austin Wright and Jonathan Topaz – POLITICO.com.