Companies Shift More Donations To Democrats

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The Wall Street Journal

Companies Shift More Donations To Democrats
House Leaders' Coffers Swell as Balance Swings Against Republicans
By BRODY MULLINS and DEAN TREFTZ
April 30, 2007; Page A1

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The top four House leaders -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland and their main lieutenants -- raised a combined $2.24 million in the first quarter of 2007, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. That was more than three times as much as the $697,694 they raised in the first quarter of 2005, the comparable period in the previous two-year election cycle.

With 19 months to go until the 2008 election, Democratic committee chairmen have also seen their campaign coffers swell. For Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel of New York, contributions surged to $761,000 in the first quarter of 2007 from $57,000 two years earlier. Sharp increases were also reported for Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell -- $376,000, up from $112,000; Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts -- $217,000, up from $39,000; and House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton -- $227,000, up from $57,000.


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Overall, corporate PACs gave 56.6% of their $6.2 million in contributions to Democrats in the first quarter of 2007, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, another nonpartisan tracker of political funds. During the whole of the previous campaign cycle -- the two years that ended with the 2006 elections -- Democrats got just 34.1% of the $140.6 million that corporate PACs gave to congressional candidates.

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Bernadette Budde, executive vice president for the Business Industry Political Action Committee, a group of companies dedicated to electing pro-business candidates, says the giving isn't aimed at Democrats across the board, but focused on Democrats considered pro-business. The donations represent an effort to solidify the wing of the party in power viewed as the most moderate, she says. "Business donors always believe what we're giving in contributions are a very tangible way of saying we're with you and we want more of you." The coalition of centrist, pro-business Democratic lawmakers known as the Blue Dogs saw a huge increase in their donations. The group's 43 members raised a total of $6 million in the five months after the last election -- from November through March -- up from $4.7 million, or 28%, from the comparable period two years earlier.

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