Six of the top 10, and 12 of the top 20 campaign contributors over the past 14 years are unions. And with 94% of their donations going to Democrat candidates, these unions have given the Dem. party a 20% edge in contributions from the “Top 100,” acc. to a non-partisan study released Oct. 22. The study by the Center for Responsive Politics chronicles both direct contributions to candidates by political action cmtes. (PACs), and “soft money” donations to political parties from 1989-90 to the current campaign cycle.
The top contributor, of $30,671,426, was the Amer. Fed. of State, County & Municipal Employees, followed by the Natl. Educ. Assn. with $21,116,383. Also in the top 10 are the Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters at no. 6, the Intl. Bhd. of Electrical Workers at no. 7, the Serv. Employees Intl. Union at no. 9, and the Comm. Wrkrs. of Amer. at no. 10. Of the top 100 contributing organizations since 1989, Dem. candidates received 60% of their total donations, thanks to the 94% of union contributions that went to the Dem. party. The study can be read at the CRP’s web site, http://www.opensecrets.org