Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has found himself at the center of allegations and investigations that could reshape his global media empire, as controversial news gathering methods by some news outlets owned by News Corp. have come to light this month.

Murdoch’s media outlets in the United States, including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, have yet to face any investigation, though several members of Congress have called for one.

But aside from Murdoch’s influence in the world of news, what political involvement has he had? In terms of campaign contributions, he’s stretched himself across a wide number of U.S. politicians and political groups, too.

Since the 1990 election cycle, Murdoch has contributed about $750,000 to federal candidates and political committees, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics Of that sum, 80 percent — or $600,200 — has benefited Republican candidates and committees, including a $250,000 contribution to the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 1990s, when the committee could still accept unlimited “soft money” donations. Meanwhile, 12 percent of the donations, or $90,300, benefited Democrats, according to the Center’s research. The remaining $57,500 went to corporate political action committees — namely those of News Corp. and Philip Morris. The top recipient of Murdoch’s money among Democrats is Hillary Clinton, who received cash from Murdoch during her time as a U.S. Senator from New York. She received $4,200 from Murdoch during the 2006 election cycle and $2,300 during the 2008 election cycle.

But that’s less than half of what the top Republican politician to get cash from Murdoch has received. Since the 2006 election cycle, Murdoch has given $13,600 to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Five thousand dollars of that sum went to McConnell’s leadership PAC, Bluegrass Committee, and the rest has benefited his campaign committee.

On top of McConnell, Murdoch has also ingratiated himself with the Republican Party’s other current congressional leaders.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have both received campaign cash from Murdoch — $2,000 and $2,500, respectively. He also contributed $5,000 to the leadership PAC of Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), although none to Boehner’s campaign fund.

Boehner and Kyl each received contributions from Murdoch during the 2010 election cycle, while Cantor’s money came during the 2006 election cycle.

In contrast, no members of the Democratic Party’s current House leadership have had their pockets lined with Murdoch’s cash. Murdoch, however, has contributed to other prominent Democratic members of Congress, including Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), currently one of the highest ranking Democrats in the U.S. Senate, and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). Murdoch donated $4,000 to Schumer during the 2004 election cycle.

Overall, Murdoch has contributed to 53 Republican politicians and 20 Democrats since 1989, according to the Center’s research. He has also given to 12 leadership PACs run by Republicans, while giving no money to leadership PACs run by Democrats. Seven of the GOP members of Congress whose leadership PACs Murdoch contributed to also received campaign contributions from him.

Of this year’s Republican presidential hopefuls, two have received support from Murdoch in the past: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) received $1,000 during the 1998 election, and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) received $1,000 during the 2000 election and an additional $4,200 during the 2006 election cycle.

The top 15 beneficiaries of Murdoch’s cash, be they candidates, party committees or PACs, have collectively brought in $585,600 since the 1990 election cycle. That’s 78 percent of all of Murdoch’s contributions. The table below lists those 15 recipients:

Recipient Donation National Republican Senatorial Cmte $307,800 Republican National Cmte $55,044 Democratic National Cmte $52,000 News Corp PAC $35,000 National Republican Congressional Cmte $21,000 Philip Morris PAC $20,500 Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) $13,600 Ex-Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) $13,000 Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) $12,200 Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) $10,600 Republican Party of Alaska $10,000 Republican Party of Washington $10,000 Ex-Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) $9,200 Sen. Candidate Bill Jones (R-Calif.) $8,000 Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) $7,700

Download a spreadsheet containing more information about Rupert Murdoch’s personal campaign contributions here: MurdochMoney.xls

Feel free to use our data, and if you do, please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch, who runs News International, the British arm of News Corp., and was the heir apparent to News Corp. before the scandal broke, has also made contributions to federal candidates — though a fraction of what his father has given.

Since the 1998 election cycle, when James Murdoch first doled out contributions, he has given $10,800, with about half of that sum benefiting Democrats. During the 2000 election cycle, he gave $2,000 to Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore, and during the 2008 election cycle, he contributed $2,300 to Clinton’s presidential campaign. He also gave $500 to the DNC during the 2000 election and $500 to Schumer that same year.

Additionally, he gave $3,000 to News Corp.’s PAC in the 1998 election. That same election cycle, he donated $1,000 a piece to two Republican candidates in New York — Alfonse D’Amato and Don Nickles — and he donated $500 to Mark Green, who ran in an Independence Party primary. Center for Responsive Politics researchers Douglas Weber and Carolyn Sharpe contributed to this report.



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