Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) has supported legislation aimed at lowering prescription drug prices and creating more competition in the drug industry – efforts opposed by the powerful pharmaceutical lobby.

But as she runs for reelection, her campaign is relying on two lobbyists, Mary Anne Walsh and Jenny DiJames, who represent many drug makers and other health care concerns to host March 4 fundraiser for the Buckeye state freshman.

Many of DiJames’ clients are top tier drug companies, including Pfizer, in which Kilroy holds shares. DiJames’ firm, William & Jensen, lobbied on the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2009, a bill that Kilroy co-sponsored. The bill, opposed by the drug industry, would require the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower prescription drug prices in a government-run prescription plan.

Walsh, the former chief of staff to Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), has donated $750 to Kilroy’s campaign since 2008. Other clients of hers include the Akron General Hospital Systems and the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

Kilroy is also a key player pushing, along with other members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission, for an end to “pay for delay” drug settlements, in which pharmaceutical companies pay generic companies not to compete against their brand name products. These settlements delay the entry of lower-cost generic drugs on the market. A ban on “pay for delay” negotiations is contained in the House approved health care bill and is also in President Barack Obama’s recent health care proposal.

In 2008, Kilroy won the election over Republican Steve Stivers by less than one percent of the vote. Stivers is challenging her again this year for a seat that has been held by a Republican for more than 40 years. Stivers is holding a fundraiser with Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar on March 5. So far, Stivers has raised more than $500,000 on the campaign trail, with notable donors including leading drug makers and insurance companies like Abbott Laboratories and AETNA. Kilroy has surpassed Stivers with more than $1 million in donations.

DiJames and Walsh did not return calls asking for comment.