If you thought the bad economy would slow down political spending, think again. The Federal Election Commission is out with its initial analysis of fundraising for the 2010 elections. In the first six months of the year, House and Senate candidates raised more than $250 million, more than half of that going to Democrats. Of that total, Senate candidates raised $93.2 million─a new record for off-year elections. All that raises the question: with many of the nation’s top industries struggling and people having suffered major losses in the stock market, who exactly can afford to write big political checks these days? Well, in a nutshell, it’s the usual suspects.
The Center for Responsive Politics has a breakdown of the top individual donors to political candidates so far this year, and─surprise, surprise─the list basically looks like a retread of past campaign years. The biggest individual donor so far this cycle is Bernard Schwartz, chairman of Loral Space & Communications, a defense contractor. According to CRP, Schwartz and his wife, Irene, have contributed more than $200,000 so far this year, all to Democrats. He narrowly edged out Texas construction giant Bob Perry, who is perhaps most famous as the guy who funded those Swift Boat Veterans attack ads against John Kerry in 2004. He and his wife, Doylene, have contributed $195,400─all to Republicans. The rest of the list is a who’s who of top political contributors from years past, including Texas lobbyist Ben Barnes; Power Rangers creator Haim Saban; and Jerry Perenchio, the former chairman of Univision. It's worth noting there's a contribution limit per person per election cycle of $115,500 to federal candidates, parties, and political action committees. That's $231,000 per couple─which means some folks, like Schwartz and his wife, are already nearing the limit more than a year before Election Day 2010. With all indications showing that 2010 is going to be a heated race, will donors begin looking for loopholes on how to influence hot congressional races?
When it comes to political giving from organizations and companies, two labor unions are at the top of the list: the Operating Engineers union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, both of which have contributed heavily to Democrats. But it’s who comes next on the list that’s interesting: telecommunications giant AT&T has contributed more than $1.4 million to federal candidates and parties via its employees and political action committee so far this year. Its contributions are split almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Other biggies include defense contractor Honeywell International, which has contributed $1.1 million, and the American Bankers Association, which has anted up just over $1 million. Both Honeywell and the ABA split their contributions almost evenly between the parties. According to CRP, the top organizational donor is ActBlue, a liberal political action committee that serves as a conduit for individuals to give to Democratic candidates. Its total giving/rerouting so far this year: almost $5 million─and that doesn't include the $1 million ActBlue reportedly helped raise last week for Rob Miller, the Democrat challenging South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson in 2010. What does ActBlue's big money indicate about 2010? A good portion of its contributions come from grassroots donors, the same group that helped fund Barack Obama's record-breaking fundraising in 2008. Perhaps that's an indication that Obama's strongest supporters won't sit out 2010.
