Affluent industries get behind Dem candidates

WASHINGTON -- Democrats seeking the White House are raising significantly more money than Republicans this year from the industries that provide the most cash to presidential contenders — including Wall Street executives who traditionally have given to the GOP, a campaign-finance analysis shows.

The major Democratic candidates have collected nearly $81 million from the employees and political action committees of the 20 employment sectors that contributed the most money during the first six months of the year, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by the non-profit Center for Responsive Politics. In contrast, Republicans raised $47 million.

Overall, Democrats have raised more money than GOP candidates in 15 of the top 20 sectors, ranging from law firms to insurance companies.

The industries where Republicans have an advantage include accounting and manufacturing — but not Wall Street.

The securities and investment industry has contributed more money to Republicans than to Democrats in the past four presidential cycles, the center's data show. In this election, Democrats have collected $10 million so far from the securities and investment industry, compared with $8 million that went to GOP candidates.

That stands in sharp contrast to the presidential election in 2004 when President Bush collected twice as much money from this sector than did the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

The trend in this year's giving reflects the fundraising edge Democratic presidential contenders have over Republicans. So far this year, Democrats have outraised their GOP counterparts by nearly $60 million.

"Money follows winners," said Michael McDonald, a political scientist at George Mason University. "People in the stock market are betting that Democrats are going to win the election."

Among Democrats, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama raised the most from the investment community, $3.4 million, followed by New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton with $3 million. Employees of investment giant Goldman Sachs were among the most generous, contributing more than $900,000. Obama was the top recipient with $311,000.