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.
Democrats' success with Wall Street reflects their ties to financial centers in New York and Chicago and the presence of influential senators in the race, said Terry Holt, a GOP strategist who worked on Bush's re-election in 2004. In addition to Clinton and Obama, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who chairs the Senate banking committee, has raised $2.2 million from Wall Street.
Giving those senators money is "a safe bet" for donors, Holt said, because even if they don't win, "they still will be in a position to influence legislation as a member of the United States Senate."
At the same time, Holt said, the field among Republicans remains unsettled as former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson weighs entering the race. "There are Republican money sources that haven't yet joined the fight."
The analysis also found:
• Lawyers and law firm employees ranked first, providing nearly $28 million to candidates. The vast majority of that money — nearly 80% — went to Democrats. In the 2004 election, lawyers were the top source of Kerry's money and gave more than three times as much money to Democrats as they did to Bush. Democrat John Edwards, a former trial lawyer, received the most, $6.5 million, followed by Clinton with $6.2 million.
Kathleen Flynn Peterson, a Minnesota malpractice lawyer and president of a national trial lawyers' group, gave money to Clinton, Edwards and several other Democrats. "I believe in the message that Democrats are voicing in this campaign — civil justice, women's rights," she said.
• Cash has flowed from companies with close ties to candidates. The center's tally shows Republican Rudy Giuliani received more than $225,000 from employees of Elliot Management, a hedge fund headed by Paul Singer, a veteran GOP fundraiser who serves as a senior adviser to the Giuliani campaign.
• Democrats have a fundraising edge among lobbyists, collecting 57% of the $1.4 million provided by federal and local lobbyists, according to the center's tally. Clinton received the most, nearly $400,000. Among Republicans, Arizona Sen. John McCain led, with $237,000.
Two candidates, Edwards and Obama, have refused to accept contributions from lobbyists. Bob Stern, president of the non-profit watchdog group Center for Governmental Studies, backs limiting contributions from lobbyists, but he says the practice is unlikely to significantly curb the influence of special interests in the 2008 race.
"In reality, it doesn't affect the process that much because so much of the money in this election comes from groups that want something from government," he said.