How Wall Street Has Dominated 2016 Donations
Center for Responsive Politics / Will Tucker @opensecretsdc
11:14 AM
The securities and investment industry flexed serious financial muscle in the presidential money race last year. At $90 million contributed to all candidates, current and former, and the super PACs supporting them, it led all industries tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics, new data show.
Super PACs allowed the industry to gain an outsize share of the pie in 2015 as Wall Street gravitated to some candidates and utterly abandoned others. With billionaire investors giving right and left, total contributions from the industry to presidential super PACs rose to $81.2 million.
But while securities and investment interests hold the lead in terms of money to the types of groups that can receive unlimited contributions, they gave far less to the campaign committees under the direct control of the candidates — just $9.3 million.
snip* For some candidates, like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the difference allows for a technically accurate but misleading characterization of the facts. In December, Clinton could say she receives more contributions from teachers than Wall Street types even as her super PACs scooped up $17.2 million from wealthy financiers. She can’t make that claim anymore, by the way: Her campaign has now received more money (barely) from individuals in the securities and investment industry than in education: $2.93 million to $2.88 million, respectively.
in full: http://time.com/4206096/how-wall-street-has-dominated-2016-donations/
= new reply since forum marked as read
