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Corporations investing in Election 2000By ROBERT TRIGAUX © St. Petersburg Times, published September 11, 2000 In the presidential race for corporate campaign contributions, George W. Bush is raking in the dough while Al Gore follows at a distant No. 2. No surprise there. U.S. corporations overwhelmingly prefer Republican candidates. And Bush is enjoying the traditional double-dip: more companies are giving more money (via PACs and by individual employees) to his campaign in this 1999-2000 election cycle than to his Democratic challenger. Consider Dubya's top 10 corporate contributions, as of Aug. 3, compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. Total tally: $1.5-million. Among the heavyweight corporate givers: MBNA America (credit cards), Houston law firms Vinson & Elkins and Baker & Botts (where James Baker, former secretary of state under President Bush, works), Merrill Lynch and Houston energy/communications giant Enron Corp. Gore's top 10 corporate tally adds up to a more modest $799,020. His top contributors include Ernst & Young, Citigroup, entertainment giants Viacom and Time Warner, and BellSouth. Even banking giant Bank of America, built and led by Democrat Hugh McColl, contributed heavily ($104,000) to Bush and relatively little to Gore. Gore wins at least one comparison with Bush's money machine. Among each of the candidates' top 10 corporate givers, Gore boasts the only Florida-based business. Tampa's Holland & Knight, one of the nation's largest law firms, gave $49,150 to the Gore campaign.
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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