Dec. 17, 2010 -- Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas has been selected to chair the House Committee on Agriculture, according to Janie Lorber of the New York Times. Lucas is currently serving as the ranking minority member on the Ag. Committee. According to the Congressman's website, he and his family have been farming in Oklahoma for more than 100 years. Rep. Lucas also holds a degree in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University.
Lucas is frequent recipient of campaign contributions from the agriculture industry. Lucas is the fifth largest recipient in the House of Representatives of contributions from individuals and organizations related to the Crop production & basic processing category code.
The following are the top ten contributors to Lucas' campaign by interest group:
| Interest | Contributions |
|---|---|
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $141,800 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $95,800 |
| Banks and Credit | $54,245 |
| Oil & Gas | $51,850 |
| Insurance | $40,050 |
| Dairy | $37,950 |
| Livestock | $34,850 |
| Accountants | $31,581 |
| Food Processing & Sales | $28,950 |
| Securities & Investment | $28,750 |
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) will be replacing Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. The following are the top ten contributors to Peterson's campaign by interest group:
| Interest | Contributions |
|---|---|
| Crop Production & Basic Processing | $158,966 |
| Agricultural Services/Products | $154,549 |
| Dairy | $56,500 |
| Food Processing & Sales | $41,700 |
| Livestock | $37,731 |
| Building Trade Unions | $35,250 |
| Forestry & Forest Products | $30,900 |
| Securities & Investment | $30,000 |
| Industrial Unions | $26,500 |
| Electric Utilities | $25,250 |
Contributions above are for the last two years of available data, Oct 14, 2008 - Oct 13, 2010. Contributions from political parties and from other candidates are not included in the "Top 10" lists. Contributions data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org).
