Richmond, VA – Despite the Pharmaceutical industry working with the Republican Attorney General’s Association, or RAGA, to buy the Virginia Attorney General’s seat, the will of voters has again thwarted Big Pharma with John Adams’ defeat.

“Big Pharma poured $1,789,755 in to RAGA this cycle, and even after they spent a quarter million of that directly on the John Adams campaign voters rejected Pharma and their anointed candidate,” said D. Taylor, International President of UNITE HERE. “We are fighting back against Big Pharma at the state level all around the country, and winning greater drug pricing transparency and an end to prescription drug price gouging at the state level in places like Nevada and California this year. This rejection of Big Pharma and their puppet John Adams is one more victory for patients over an entrenched special interest that profits at the cost of patients.”

Between January 2014 and June 2017, Purdue Pharma gave $555,675 to RAGA, Mallinckrodt $267,400, Pfizer $225,250, Eli Lilly $155,815, and Sunovion $102,245. Of this, $250,000 was directly funneled from RAGA to John Adam’s candidate committee. Adams’ loss comes on the heels of UNITE HERE successfully campaigning for legislative passage of two pharmaceutical reform bills in Nevada and California this year, which have both been signed into law. Fair and affordable healthcare is a central tenant of UNITE HERE, and the union will continue fighting at the state and federal level for policies that put consumers before special interests in the coming year.

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UNITE HERE represents 270,000 members working in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries in the U.S. and Canada.