Wall Street Money in Politics

Wall Street Tops Campaign Finance Charts

• Individuals and PACs in finance, insurance, and real estate have contributed over $2 billion to federal campaigns since 1990, the largest sector by a factor of two
• Wall Street contributions increased five-fold from $60 million in 1990 to $311 million in 2008
• Members of the U.S. House and Senate received an average $142,663 and $1,042,663, respectively, in Wall Street contributions as of July 28, 2008

Both Parties Profit from Wall Street Funds

• Wall Street donors consistently favored the political party in power with higher contributions in eight out of ten elections between 1990-2008
• Republicans received 55% of total Wall Street funds from 1990-2008, compared with 44% for Democrats
• The top twenty recipients of Wall Street contributions include Senators and Representatives regarded as among the most liberal and the most conservative Members in Congress

Wall Street Donors Favor Incumbents

• Incumbent Members of Congress received three-quarters (74%) of the $225 million in Wall Street contributions in 2008, consistent with recent trends
• With the exception of two House challengers in highly contested campaigns, every one of the top forty Wall Street-backed candidates running for Congress in 2008 was an incumbent, as of July 28, 2008

Wall Street Targets Regulatory Committees

• Wall Street contributions to House and Senate candidates in 2008 were heavily concentrated on members of the relevant banking, commerce, and tax committees responsible for industry regulation
• Nine of the top ten House recipients of Wall Street contributions in 200808 served on the Financial Services (6) or Ways and Means (3) committees
• Top-ten members of the relevant House committees received an average $1.5 million from Wall Street in 2008, ten times the overall average in the House
• The top ten Senate recipients of Wall Street contributions in 2008 were either candidates for President or members of the Commerce, Banking, Finance, and Budget committees, or in Senate leadership; average contributions received was $14.3 million, incl. presidential candidates

Source: Center for Responsive Politics analysis of campaign finance disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission, 1990-2008

Read more: http://www.acrreform.org/research/wall-street-money-in-politics/