Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

This is the first of two stories about the top donor occupations to 2020 Democrats. The second story examines the candidates getting support from wealthy donors.

In the battle to earn the votes of progressive Democrats, presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are in a league of their own.

The two are mostly in lockstep when it comes to policy positions, introducing similar policies for Medicare for All, student loan forgiveness, financial regulation and major tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.

“Elizabeth and I end up agreeing on a lot of issues,” Sanders said at a CNN town hall in April.

With those policies, along with pledges such as rejecting big-dollar fundraisers and campaign money from fossil fuel interests, the two are aiming to separate themselves from the pack as the candidates who are fighting for working people. As a result, Sanders and Warren are effectively tied in the polls — and some are concerned they might split the vote among progressive Democrats.

In the battle for working-class donors, however, there is a clear winner between the two.

An OpenSecrets review of campaign contributions — including those giving small amounts through the fundraising service ActBlue — reveals that among the 2020 Democrats, Sanders gets the most support from Americans in typically working-class jobs — and it isn’t close.

The Vermont senator is the top recipient among farmers, servers, social workers, retail workers, photographers, construction workers, truckers, nurses and drivers, among several other groups. Each of those professions — which don’t typically provide much campaign cash — earn near or below the median income, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sanders has raised $46 million in total, far more than his primary opponents, so it’s no surprise he leads among the most professions. But it’s his margin of victory that stands out.

Of all the money going to 2020 Democrats from servers — one of the lowest-paying jobs in the country — more than half went to Sanders alone. As the first major presidential candidate to propose eliminating student debt, Sanders took in one quarter of all students’ contributions to Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Warren, a Massachusetts senator, finishes in second or third in most of these categories along with South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a powerhouse fundraiser who has brought in more money than Warren when excluding transfers from other committees.

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Warren leads the field among some of the most highly-educated Americans such as scientists and psychotherapists. While Sanders is the top recipient among teachers, Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, gets the most support from professors.

That dichotomy backs up polling that Sanders performs better with lower-income and less-educated Americans — and it may help explain the difference between the two senators.

Warren has brought in a whopping $17 million from small donors, 48 percent of her campaign funds. Sanders is in a different league, collecting 60 percent — $28 million — from small donors.

Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist. Warren has called herself a “capitalist to my bones.” Sanders is calling for a “political revolution” to upend the political and economic status quo. Warren wants to help rebuild the Democratic Party’s damaged campaign arm that sought to undermine Sanders in 2016.

Still, Sanders and Warren have one big thing in common: They are both despised on Wall Street. CEOs, investors, bankers and others in the corporate world have largely rejected both senators

Donors listing their occupation as “CEO” have given upwards of $350,000 to some of the other well-funded Democratic candidates. But they gave just $105,000 to Warren and $97,000 to Sanders. Those in the finance field gave $33,000 to Sanders and roughly $30,000 to Warren compared to $173,000 to Buttigieg, the top recipient.

CNBC reported Tuesday that Wall Street executives are saying Warren’s White House bid has “got to be stopped” over fears of what she might do to shake up major financial institutions.

Sanders and Warren are two of just three Democratic candidates who have said they want to revive the Great Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act that forcibly separated investment and commercial banking. And bankers gave a combined $47,000 to the two — far less than the $85,000 they gave to Buttigieg and $71,000 to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Sanders is also by far the top recipient of money from software engineers, programmers and information technology professionals, helping explain how Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple are among his top 10 organization contributors.

Pharmacists gave far more to Sanders — nearly $69,000 — than any other candidate. The Vermont senator also dominates the presidential field among musicians and artists.

Researcher Alex Baumgart contributed to this report.



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