Biggest Donor Areas Go For Dems

Wealthy Areas Giving More to Democrats for '08

ByABC News
August 16, 2007, 12:13 PM

— -- WASHINGTON — Democrats seeking the White House have received more than four times as much money from some of the nation's wealthiest enclaves as party contenders did in 2003, an analysis of campaign-finance records shows.

The major Democratic presidential candidates have raised nearly $32 million from the 50 ZIP codes that were the top sources of campaign money in the first six months of the year, the non-profit Center for Responsive Politics found. In contrast, Republicans received $13.8 million.

The analysis for USA TODAY shows Democrats raised the most money in 43 of the 50 postal codes. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the top recipient in 28 areas.

In the first half of 2003, John Kerry, Howard Dean and other Democrats who ran for president raised about $7.7 million from the top 50 donor ZIP codes. President Bush, who did not actively raise money until May of that year, collected nearly $6 million in that period.

The trend in giving from such upscale areas as Greenwich, Conn., is another sign of the financial advantage for the 2008 election enjoyed by Democrats, who have outraised their Republican counterparts by nearly $60 million.

"There's a lot of pent-up demand by Democrats to win back the White House," said John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron in Ohio.

Because fewer than 1% of all Americans donate to presidential campaigns, the contributions from tony neighborhoods also highlight the influence that a tiny fraction of people will have on the contest.

"In some ways, this 2008 primary season won't be decided in the heartland or the swing states, but in Upper East Side apartments, Beverly Hills mansions and Palm Beach villas," center spokesman Massie Ritsch said. The analysis also found:

• Donors living in New York's 10021 ZIP code rank first, providing more than $4.5 million. That's up from $1.2 million in the first six months of 2003, when the area also was the top source of presidential money.

Clinton received the most, $1.4 million, followed by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, with $941,000.