AMERICANS FOR

CAMPAIGN REFORM
FACT SHEET

Money in Politics: Who Gives

<1% of Americans Contribute 80% of Funds Fig. 1: Federal Campaign Contribs Breakdown, 2008
• Less than 0.5 percent of the U.S. population contrib- Size Gender
uted $200 or more to federal candidates in 2008, or
82 percent of total itemized contributions. 18%
• Less than 0.1 percent of Americans contributed 32%
$2,300 or more in 2008, or 60 percent of the total.
22% 60%
• Approximately 4 percent of Americans made 68%
contributions in any amount in 2008.
• Men contributed 68 percent of all money to federal
candidates, compared with 32 percent from women.
Max. Donors ($2,300+) Men
Larger Donors ($200-$2,300) Women
Geographic Concentration of Major Donors Small Donors (<$200)

• The top 5 metro areas for contributions to federal

candidates in 2008 -- New York, Washington, Los
Fig. 2: Contributions Per Capita, 2008 (millions)
Angeles, Chicago, and Boston -- contributed $726
Top Metropolitan Area Zip Codes v. Nationwide
million, more than the bottom 36 states combined.
• Residents of Manhattan’s Upper East Side (top 5 zip
codes) contributed $72 million in 2008, more than New York 600
10021
each of the bottom 39 states and approximately 50
times the national per capita rate of $9.90. Los Angeles 390
90210
• A study of racial/ethnic distribution of campaign
contributions in the 2000-2004 elections found that Washington 376
20007
89.4 percent of money came from predominantly
non-Hispanic white zip codes and 10.6 percent came Chicago 246
69611
from predominantly racial/ethnic minority zip codes.
USA
USA 10 10

Major Industries Top 2008 Contributors $0 $150 $300 $450 $600

• The top contributing industry sectors -- finance and

real estate, lawyers and lobbyists, healthcare, Fig. 3: Top Five Contributing Sectors, 2008 (millions)
communications, and energy and transportation --
provided a combined $1.2 billion in campaign
Finance & $203 $173
money to federal candidates in 2008. Real Est
• Contributions from the top five sectors accounted
Lawyers & $201 $71
for nearly 50 percent of the total $2.4 billion in 2008, Business
compared with 10 percent from ideological/single
Health- $91 $77
issue groups and 3 percent from labor unions. Lobbyists
• Industry giving to the two major political parties DEM
Communi- $97 $42
was roughly even across sectors, with Democrats cations REP
receiving 56 percent of total contributions.
Energy & $45 $84
Transport
Sources: Federal Election Commission, Center for Responsive
$0 $100 $200 $300 $400
Politics, Public Campaignʼs “The Color of Money” Project

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