2008 Overview
Business-Labor-Ideology Split in PAC & Individual Donations to Candidates and Parties
The broadest categories that CRP uses to analyze the contributors of campaign cash are shown below. Business interests as a whole contribute far more money to candidates and political parties than do labor unions or ideological groups. Of course, business is a much bigger category than the others. However, business contributions tend to be overstated. Because CRP uses employer/occupation information to categorize donors, and because just about everyone works for a business, contributions from members of labor unions and ideological groups are often classified under business.
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TO DEMS
TO REPUBSAll Contributions
| Grand Total | Democrats | Republicans | Dem % | Repub % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | $1,241,670,659 | $669,165,075 | $570,684,366 | 54% | 46% |
| Labor | $45,846,159 | $41,661,990 | $4,159,019 | 91% | 9% |
| Ideological | $83,259,232 | $53,710,707 | $29,513,800 | 65% | 35% |
| Other | $227,929,265 | $127,698,355 | $99,387,421 | 56% | 44% |
| Unknown | $94,031,202 | $53,309,577 | $40,472,358 | 57% | 43% |
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Contributions from PACs
| Grand Total | Democrats | Republicans | Dem % | Repub % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | $213,658,066 | $106,738,508 | $106,908,808 | 50% | 50% |
| Labor | $45,018,819 | $40,883,114 | $4,111,205 | 91% | 9% |
| Ideological | $36,363,239 | $18,548,677 | $17,788,797 | 51% | 49% |
| Other | $690,145 | $517,329 | $172,816 | 75% | 25% |
| Unknown | $828,445 | $530,810 | $297,635 | 64% | 36% |
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Contributions from Individuals
| Grand Total | Democrats | Republicans | Dem % | Repub % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | $1,026,686,138 | $561,657,951 | $463,217,719 | 55% | 45% |
| Labor | $698,190 | $660,576 | $36,964 | 95% | 5% |
| Ideological | $46,833,821 | $35,130,990 | $11,693,871 | 75% | 25% |
| Other | $227,130,031 | $127,139,031 | $99,147,511 | 56% | 44% |
| Unknown | $93,192,007 | $52,768,517 | $40,174,223 | 57% | 43% |
To view data for previous cycles, visit our Historic Elections section.
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