COLUMBUS, OHIO • Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who has made his opponent’s questionable record fighting the opioid epidemic a central theme of his campaign for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat, has received campaign donations over the years from drug distributors blamed for key roles in the crisis, an Associated Press review found.

The contributions to Ryan from Amerisourcebergen, Mckesson and Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, the three biggest drug distribution companies in the U.S., came in between 2007 and August of this year.

Earlier this year, the companies finalized a $21 billion settlement with state, local and Native American tribal governments and others over the toll of the opioid crisis. The settlement is the largest over opioid claims and keeps the companies from facing thousands of lawsuits.

The trio’s combined giving to Ryan of $27,000 represents a fraction of the $50 million he has collected over the course of his career. Still, contributions from those donors are notable as Ryan hammers the spotty record of the anti-opioid nonprofit started by his Republican opponent, “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance.

Ryan’s campaign spokesperson called him “one of Congress’ most outspoken fighters against the opioid epidemic.” She noted that

Cardinal is a major Ohio employer and the companies’ donations represent just one-fifth of 1% of the $17 million Ryan raised this quarter alone.

Vance’s nonprofit, Our Ohio Renewal, spent far more than that “for political polling and consultant fees to his top political adviser — when it wasn’t promoting a Purdue Pharma-linked doctor with a reputation for downplaying the deadly threat of Oxycontin,” spokesperson Izzi Levy said.

Vance’s campaign said accepting the donations represented “shameless hypocrisy” by Ryan. It had not yet reported its latest fundraising figures Wednesday.

Ryan and Vance are locked in a tight contest for the coveted open Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. Republicans see the seat as a critical one to hold if they hope to retake the Senate, while a flip to Democrats would be a major victory in the increasingly conservative-leaning state.