The hedge fund industry did not emerge as a significant political player or campaign contributor till 2007. However, the industry has since made up for lost time. At this point in the 2018 election cycle, hedge funds contributed $101 million to federal candidates, PACs and outside spending groups. In 2018, Democrats have mainly benefitted from these donors. Democratic candidates and incumbents received $8.7 million, while Republicans received $2.9 million.

That being said, these totals are nowhere near what this industry spent in 2016. Hedge funds spent $240 million on candidates, PACs and outside money groups. [Read more Background]