President Barack Obama has raised $48.7 million for his re-election campaign and his GOP challengers have raised a combined $36.7 million. But where is that money coming from?

A preliminary analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics has found that the top industry backers of several presidential candidates show similarities, while others show stark contrasts.

Republican presidential candidates, in particular, are bringing their own geographic bases of support.

Furthermore, some candidates — such as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty — are relying on financial support from Wall Street. Meanwhile, other candidates — particularly Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) — have a more diverse range of backers.

Bachmann and Paul have also demonstrated significant support from small-dollar donors.

For all presidential candidates, retirees — who perennially show some of the deepest pockets — were high on the list of donors.

People listing their occupation on campaign finance filings as retired have given Romney at least $1.6 million. Pawlenty, meanwhile, has raised at least $577,000 from retirees. And retired people have contributed at least $324,600 to Paul’s presidential campaign and $160,300 to Bachmann’s.

Obama, meanwhile, has reported raising at least $3.1 million from retirees.

WALL STREET’S FAVORITE REPUBLICANS

Although Romney has raised more than four times as much money as Pawlenty, the former governors have other similarities in their donor bases too.

Both candidates have received at least one-fifth of their total contributions from people and political action committees associated with the finance, insurance and real estate sector.

These donors account for at least $3.7 million out of the total $18.3 million Romney has raised through the second quarter, the Center’s research indicates. Similarly, these contributors account for at least $862,400 out of the $4.47 million Pawlenty raised through the end of June, according to the Center’s analysis.

The securities and investment industry alone accounts for at least $1.9 million of Romney’s total haul, according to the Center’s research, and the commercial banking industry has contributed at least $213,100.



Donors associated with Goldman Sachs have given Romney at least $290,750, according to the Center’s research. Those affiliated with Credit Suisse Group, meanwhile, have donated at least $167,000 to Romney, and people and PACs associated with Morgan Stanley have given him at least $126,350.

Donors associated with Bain Capital, Bain & Co., Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Blackstone Group, UBS AG, and Wells Fargo have likewise already donated tens of thousands of dollars to Romney’s presidential campaign.

Californians have contributed at least $2.3 million to Romney’s campaign, while New Yorkers have given at least $2.1 million. Notably, residents of New Canaan, Conn., one of the most affluent communities in the country, have given Romney more than $200,000 for his presidential run through June, according to the Center’s research. And residents of the Boston metro area have given at least $1.3 million to his campaign.

Meanwhile, the securities and investment industry has donated at least $367,200 to Pawlenty, the Center’s research shows, and the commercial banking industry has given at least $120,500.

Donors associated with Wells Fargo have given Pawlenty $48,750, according to the Center’s research. Those affiliated with Morgan Stanley have given him $36,250. Employees of Goldman Sachs have given Pawlenty $16,500 through June, and JPMorgan Chase employees have given him $16,250.

Notably, Minnesota-based Xcel Energy has also been a big contributor to Pawlenty. Donors associated with Xcel Energy have given him $16,550, including a $5,000 contribution from the company PAC in May.

So far during his presidential run, at least $1 out of every $4 Pawlenty has raised has come from residents of the state where Pawlenty was born, raised and served two terms as governor. Minnesotans have given Pawlenty $1.2 million and counting for his presidential campaign, according to the Center’s analysis.

Of that sum, $1.09 million is from residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. That’s three to five times as much support as he’s gotten from donors in places such as Chicago, Dallas or Los Angeles.

Aside from the companies in the finance sector, Pawlenty and Romney also have a smattering of law firms and real estate companies among their top contributors.

Both men have also collected money from Texas home builder Bob Perry, a main funder last year of the conservative super PAC American Crossroads — although Pawlenty more than Romney. Perry and his wife, Doylene, have both given $5,000 to Pawlenty, while they’v both given Romney $2,500.

DIVERSE DONOR ARMIES

On the other hand, Republican presidential hopefuls Bachmann and Paul have much more diverse groups of contributors.

Through June, Bachmann raised $1.6 million for her nascent presidential campaign. She also transferred $2 million from her congressional committee into her new presidential committee. Paul, meanwhile, has raised $4.5 million.

Both Bachmann and Paul ended June with more cash on hand than Pawlenty — but less than Romney.

Both have also significantly relied on small-dollar donors to fuel their war chests. About half of Paul’s fund-raising so far this year has come from individuals who give $200 or less, the threshold set by the Federal Election Commission for itemized disclosure. And about two-thirds of Bachmann’s fund-raising haul during the second quarter came from such small-dollar donors, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.

Because no information is disclosed about the individual donors who give $200 or less, it’s impossible to know where these donors are from, or in which industries they work.

But of the donors who have given her more than $200, Bachmann, like Pawlenty is relying on her home state of Minnesota. Minnesotans have given Bachmann at least $132,150, according to the Center’s research, including at least $107,350 from residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

The Center’s research shows that Californians have also given Bachmann more than $100,000 — ringing in at $102,550 through June. And Floridians have given her $98,200, including $36,375 from residents of Naples.

Donors associated with the finance, insurance and real estate sector had only given Bachmann about $38,850 through June, the Center’s research shows. Donors who are part of the health sector, meanwhile, have given her at least $29,350. And donors who are part of the agribusiness sector have given her at least $20,000.

Notably, College Loan Corp. chief executive officer Cary Katz and his wife, Jacqueline, have donated $10,000 to Bachmann’s presidential bid, according to the Center’s research. Individual employees of Target, meanwhile, have donated $4,000 to Bachmann, and employees of Southwest Airlines have donated $2,750.

Additionally, in May, the political action committee of energy giant Koch Industries donated $5,000 to Bachmann’s congressional committee. No other presidential candidate has yet to receive any money from the Koch Industries PAC since January.

Like Bachman, Paul also received support from a broad base of donors.

His presidential campaign so far has received notable support from members of the U.S. Armed Forces, government officials and employees of tech companies such as Google and IBM.

According to the Center’s research, members of the U.S. Army alone have donated more than $11.350 to Paul’s campaign. Individuals who listed their employer as the U.S. Navy on federal campaign finance documents have donated about $5,500 to Paul’s campaign so far.

Defense contractors, too, have also made some notable contributions to Paul. Employees of United Technology have donated $6,000 so far to Paul’s campaign, and employees of Lockheed Martin have donated about $4,900.

Google employees have donated at least $8,600 to Paul. Microsoft employees have donated at least $4,000 to Paul. And IBM employees have donated at least $3,800, according to the Center’s research.

Employees of the U.S. government have given Paul at least $4,400.

Furthermore, Californians have donated more than $312,500 to Paul’s campaign and Texans have donated more than $287,900, according to the Center’s research.

OBAMA’S BIG MONEY

Obama ‘s re-election campaign brought in $46.3 million during the second quarter alone, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported. Included in that sum was $12.75 million raised through a joint fund-raising committee with the Democratic National Committee called the Obama Victory Fund. He also raised about 47 percent of this sum — $21.65 million — from individual donors who gave him $200 or less.

Joint fund-raising committees allow donors to write one check to a group, such as the Obama Victory Fund, which splits the money between participating political groups — in this case, the Obama campaign and the DNC.

This preliminary analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics does not yet include any examination of the donations Obama received through this joint fund-raising committee.

For donors who donated more than $200 directly to Obama’s re-election campaign, a preliminary analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows wide support from lawyers, educators, health professionals, employees of tech companies and individuals who work for securities and investment firms, among others.

Lawyers and other employees of law firms have donated at least $680,200 to Obama’s campaign, according to the Center’s research. People who work in the education industry, meanwhile, have donated at least $625,000. And health professionals have donated at least $306,500.

Within the education industry, employees of MIT, the University of Michigan, Stanford University, the University of Washington and the University of California have all donated more than $10,000 to Obama’s campaign, according to the Center’s research. Employees of Harvard University have donated more than $27,000.

Additionally, people working for the computers and internet industry have donated more than $210,000 to Obama, including more than $31,700 from employees of Google, more than $22,800 from employees of IBM and more than $15,200 from employees of Microsoft.

Within the finance sector, the securities and investment industry has donated at least $152,500 to Obama, according to the Center’s preliminary analysis, and the commercial banking industry has donated at least $55,300. In particular, employees of MF Global have given Obama at least $15,450, and employees of Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have given at least $10,000 to him.

MF Global is the derivatives trading firm where former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine currently serves as chairman and CEO. According to information released by the Obama campaign earlier this month, Corzine, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, has already helped raise more than $500,000 for the Obama campaign and DNC as a bundler.

Obama’s supporters in New York City have so far contributed the most — surpassing the amounts raised by donors in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

The Center’s preliminary analysis shows that residents of the New York metro area have contributed at least $988,700. Residents of Washington, D.C., meanwhile, have donated about $967,750. And residents of Chicago have given about $576,900 to Obama’s re-election campaign.

New Yorkers generally have donated more than $1.2 million to Obama’s campaign, and Californians have donated more than $1.9 million.

Notably, the Center’s preliminary analysis shows that about 45 percent of the itemized donors to the Obama campaign have been female. For most Republican candidates, less than 30 percent of their itemized donors have been women.

All of these geographic and industry-related figures will likely increase as data associated with donations to the Obama Victory Fund are processed.



For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: [email protected]

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