Recently, several stories surfaced about how much candidates are raising, but little is said about where the money is coming from—and that is important. Tracking a politician’s funding sources may reveal which donor is trying to exert influence over a candidate.

Payday, car title, and internet lenders, large national companies that make loans at 200% interest and higher, donated over $4 million in the last five years to candidates for Virginia’s House of Delegates and State Senate. Lobbyists for these companies work to stop all efforts to properly regulate their industry at the Virginia General Assembly, working on behalf of car title lenders like Anderson Financial, Select Management Resources, Community Loans of America (otherwise known as Loan Max, Titlemax, and Fast Auto Loans), Enova (also known as Cashnet USA and NetCredit), and Check into Cash.  They have given heavily and stopped reform bills over the past five years, even though borrowers of these loans have asked for needed consumer protections.

Are your candidates for the House of Delegates and the State Senate accepting campaign contributions from these companies? It’s easy to find out thanks to a helpful resource from the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP). Tell your candidates to stop taking campaign contributions from payday lenders that don’t follow the law, e-loan sharks that claim they don’t have to follow Virginia law, and car title lenders that trap Virginians in loans they cannot afford. It is up to the voters to hold our representatives accountable.