An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States
ABSTRACT Objective As healthcare becomes an increasingly heated topic in American politics, the importance of political funding similarly grows. Political contributions by otolaryngologists within the United States were analyzed to better understand how otolaryngologists exert their free speech and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.70144 |
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| author | Matthew Mitchell Ayo Isola Kendal Updike Tariq Syed Nadia Mohyuddin |
| author_facet | Matthew Mitchell Ayo Isola Kendal Updike Tariq Syed Nadia Mohyuddin |
| author_sort | Matthew Mitchell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Objective As healthcare becomes an increasingly heated topic in American politics, the importance of political funding similarly grows. Political contributions by otolaryngologists within the United States were analyzed to better understand how otolaryngologists exert their free speech and how these funds may be focused to further the interests of otolaryngology in politics. Methods The Federal Election Committee's website was queried for contributions to Political Action Committees (PAC) from 2003 to 2021 by self‐described otolaryngologists. Data was classified by political party, then characterized temporally, geographically, the donor's employment type, and by recipient. Results Otolaryngologists contributed $568,731.37 from 2003 to 2021, with an average of $352.16 per contribution. An average of 27.9 otolaryngologists contributed annually, with a minimum contribution of $1.00 and a maximum of $33,400.00. Contributions to Republican campaigns totaled $267,144.90, while $249,051.03 were donated to Democratic campaigns. The states garnering the largest spending by otolaryngologists were North Carolina ($120,912.00), Texas ($36,019.92), and Minnesota ($28,306.84). Donations to the otolaryngology‐specific PAC, named ENT PAC, totaled 4.9% of all otolaryngologist dollars. Conclusion Larger numbers of otolaryngologists engaged with political spending over time. The years of largest total contributions were 2012, 2015 (both to Democratic campaigns), and 2020 (to Republican campaigns). Otolaryngologists of private entities favored Republican campaigns, while public entity otolaryngologists favored Democratic campaigns. Otolaryngologists did not contribute to ENT PAC to the degree that other specialties contributed to their respective PACs. Level of Evidence Level VI—Single observational study. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-96b11c5d1fcf4d7ba86947143868b82b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2378-8038 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology |
| spelling | doaj-art-96b11c5d1fcf4d7ba86947143868b82b2025-08-20T02:22:03ZengWileyLaryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology2378-80382025-06-01103n/an/a10.1002/lio2.70144An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United StatesMatthew Mitchell0Ayo Isola1Kendal Updike2Tariq Syed3Nadia Mohyuddin4Texas A&M School of Medicine Bryan Texas USATexas A&M School of Medicine Bryan Texas USATexas A&M School of Medicine Bryan Texas USADepartment of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Houston Methodist Hospital Houston Texas USADepartment of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Houston Methodist Hospital Houston Texas USAABSTRACT Objective As healthcare becomes an increasingly heated topic in American politics, the importance of political funding similarly grows. Political contributions by otolaryngologists within the United States were analyzed to better understand how otolaryngologists exert their free speech and how these funds may be focused to further the interests of otolaryngology in politics. Methods The Federal Election Committee's website was queried for contributions to Political Action Committees (PAC) from 2003 to 2021 by self‐described otolaryngologists. Data was classified by political party, then characterized temporally, geographically, the donor's employment type, and by recipient. Results Otolaryngologists contributed $568,731.37 from 2003 to 2021, with an average of $352.16 per contribution. An average of 27.9 otolaryngologists contributed annually, with a minimum contribution of $1.00 and a maximum of $33,400.00. Contributions to Republican campaigns totaled $267,144.90, while $249,051.03 were donated to Democratic campaigns. The states garnering the largest spending by otolaryngologists were North Carolina ($120,912.00), Texas ($36,019.92), and Minnesota ($28,306.84). Donations to the otolaryngology‐specific PAC, named ENT PAC, totaled 4.9% of all otolaryngologist dollars. Conclusion Larger numbers of otolaryngologists engaged with political spending over time. The years of largest total contributions were 2012, 2015 (both to Democratic campaigns), and 2020 (to Republican campaigns). Otolaryngologists of private entities favored Republican campaigns, while public entity otolaryngologists favored Democratic campaigns. Otolaryngologists did not contribute to ENT PAC to the degree that other specialties contributed to their respective PACs. Level of Evidence Level VI—Single observational study.https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.70144campaign contributionspolitical action committeespolitical contributions |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Mitchell Ayo Isola Kendal Updike Tariq Syed Nadia Mohyuddin An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology campaign contributions political action committees political contributions |
| title | An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States |
| title_full | An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States |
| title_fullStr | An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States |
| title_short | An Observational Study of Political Contributions by Self‐Described Otolaryngologists in the United States |
| title_sort | observational study of political contributions by self described otolaryngologists in the united states |
| topic | campaign contributions political action committees political contributions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.70144 |
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