Top Political 'Heavy Hitters' Give to Democrats
Saturday, 15 Mar 2014 11:04 AM
By Courtney Coren
Unions and groups that support Democratic candidates and groups are among the top all-time donors, according to a new report.
Seven of the top 10 political "heavy hitters" from 1989 to 2014 donated to either Democratic candidates, the Democratic Party or Democratic leadership political action committees, which are formed by members of Congress, according to the list compiled by OpenSecrets.org.
Of the top 20 political donors, 12 were unions that donated heavily to Democratic candidates including the United Auto Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Carpenters and Joiners Union and the Service Employees International Union.
The No. 1 political heavy hitter is ActBlue, which gave more than 99 percent of about $97 million to Democrats over the last 15 years.
In second place is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which gave 81 percent of $60 million to Democratic candidates.
The top Republican heavy hitter, according to OpenSecrets.org, is United Parcel Service Inc., which comes in at number 17. UPS has donated 64 percent of its political donations to Republicans and 35 percent to Democrats from a fund of more than $32 million.
The top 20 also includes companies and business groups which split donations between the political parties.
For example, AT&T Inc., ranked No. 4, gave 57 percent to Republicans and 41 percent to Democrats, according to the list. No. 15 JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave 51 percent to Republicans and 48 percent to Democrats. The National Association of Realtors, ranked No. 5, gave 47 percent to Republicans and 44 percent to Democrats.
The list does not include individuals who donate to candidates indirectly through Super PACs, such as casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg or the Koch brothers.
The list includes groups such as ActBlue and the Club for Growth because donors can earmark their donations for particular candidates.
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