In the absence of less than three months for the US Elections, Donald Trump And Kamala Harris They know very clearly who to ask for money to finance the last sprint of their campaigns: the republican sweeps between oil and energy companies as THE democrat has in Hollywood And Silicon Valley dozens of fortunes ready to issue checks.
One of the peculiarities of American electoral system is the freedom of give money has political campaigns of all kinds. While in Europe THE applications are financed by public money, distributed according to previous results, In this North American country, there are no limits when it comes to putting dollars for one specific candidate.
Oil company interested in receiving approval for Texas extraction project? Fund a state campaign. A tech company looking to take advantage of tax incentives to set up in California? The same. It is therefore not surprising that in the previous months At American elections, THE great fortunes of the country allocate significant sums to finance candidates’ campaigns.
The Democrat Its major donors include popular names like Netflix co-founder, Reed Hastings, who was also one of the first donors to push for the withdrawal of Biden. They also appear Melinda French Doors And Michael Bloomberg all related to the technology or entertainment sector.
On their side, the names of the donors asset are much less popular and linked to the banking and energy sector, such as Timothy Mellon, heir to one of the banking empires And business of USA, either Kelcy Warren, gas president Energy transfer partners.
The most strategic contribute donations on both sides to avoid future enmities. They even distribute money between several candidates in each party’s primaries, but in a campaign as polarized as the one they are facing Harris And asset The differences between sectors are enormous.
There are few limits regarding the political donations In USA and most regulations refer to the use of these funds through the countryside, that’s why asset He was convicted in the same year. However, teams are required to declare all donations received to the Electoral Commission.
Kamala Harris speaking in Wisconsin.
Reuters
Harris adds $250 million in additional donations
According to the latest recorded statement, July 31, 2024, the campaign of Harris collected $516 million until July 2024. A figure that includes funds from the moment when Biden was a candidate even if asset had recourse to Federal Election Commission (FEC) without any prospect of making it prosper, since it is an authorized movement since it remains in the two candidates.
Since launching his campaign in July, just 100 days before the election, Harris collected at least 200 million dollars moreover, placing himself far ahead of his opponent. For your part assetwho started with an advantage over Biden just a month ago, now it is the case $268 million, a few 250 less than Harris.
Trump, the oil checks
In 2016, when he launched his first candidacy, asset he did exactly his monetary self-sufficiency One of his main arguments: “I use my own money. I don’t turn to lobbyists. I don’t turn to donors. I don’t care. I am very rich“, he boasted during the speech with which he 2015 launched his candidacy for the trump card trick of New York, when few people believed to see it in the White House.
Today, almost a decade later and in third presidential candidacy, the tycoon is not opposed to receive donations. In fact, much of his current campaign is funded by a single donor: Timothy Mellon, heir to one of the country’s largest banking and business empires, which, according to the business magazine Forbes delivered more than 115 million euros to his campaign.
Mellon, whose family fortune dates back to the time of the Civil war and includes investments in companies such as Alcoa, Chevron, Heinz And American steel, handed over a check in May 50 million After asset out sentenced for corruption 2016 to a porn actress with campaign money.
Among other billionaires who supported asset also stands out Kelcy Warren, executive chairman of Energy Transfer Partners; Diane Hendricks, founder of the supply company ABC Supply And Tim Dunn, an oil businessman with enormous influence in the state of Texas.
Added to all this is what is undoubtedly his most media-friendly support: Elon Musk, owner of the social network Musk to have invested big numbers money in the countryside Asset, for which he founded a political action committee (PAC).
Donald Trump speaking to the National Guard in Detroit.
Reuters
“I’m not going to give 45 million to Trump”the tycoon recently responded when asked about this. “I donate to America PAC, but at a much lower level,” he said.
If you analyze the donation flows by sector, The main industries interested in the victory of asset are: the oil/gas, THE manufacturing, THE construction and the transportation, according to the platform Open secrets, which tracks donations from each campaign. These four sectors total more than $50 million in contributions.
For his part, Kamala Harris It receives monetary support primarily from the following sectors: finance, law, publishing and technology, with over 70 million contributions between the four.
Harris: Wall Street and Hollywood
THE Democratic candidate, For his part, he sweeps Wall Street. More than 100 Venture Capitalists signed a letter on July 31 approving the Harris Application and commit to voting for her. Among businesses, billionaires like the businessman stood out Mark Cuban, the investor Vinod Khosla and the founder of Lowercase Capital, Chris Sacca.
In California, his hometown, Harris It also receives large donations from the world’s two most powerful industries. West Coast: THE technological and the entertainment.
Biden first attracted billionaires like the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, And Michael Bloomberg who, in addition to being mayor of new York For a decade (2002-2013) he competed against Biden And Harris in the Democratic primaries 2020. across society Bloomberg LP, The tycoon has already filed 19 million in the Democratic campaign, more than any other Democratic donor.
In June, also when Biden was still a candidate, a group of heavyweights from the entertainment world gathered in an auditorium in Los Angeles listen to the current president now Barack Obama. Julia Roberts And George Clooney They were among the participants. Many left the event with doubts about the physical and mental abilities of Biden, but at the same time they left 30 million in donations.
Worse once Harris assumed the candidacy, the historical link of Hollywood with the Democratic Party emerged significantly strengthened. Democrats added the support of other businessmen such as Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder. The entertainment giant is already gone $5 million in donations for Harris.
The same thing happens to the north, in the bay of San Francisco. The technologies of Silicon Valley They basically support Harris. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have allocated around 3 million each to Democratic committees, while his donations to Republicans are less than a million. Also prestigious universities such as Stanford, Harvard And UCLA They provide much more funding to Democrats.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, at a rally in Eau Claire.
Reuters
The fine print
According to the electoral rules, Donations must be made through the Committees of political action (PAC for its acronym in English), private organizations which are founded for the purpose of interfering in the elections and encourage or discourage certain laws.
asset has three major commissions: “Donald J Trump for President 2024”, “Make America Great Again” and “Save America”, the latter of which is also responsible for raising funds for its legal battles. For its part, the campaign Harris It is funded primarily through the new Harris for President program, but also receives funding from Future Forward USA and American Bridge 21st Century.
The most critical consider that this system perpetuates a institutionalized corruption and generates a direct influence between the private companies and the candidates. That’s to say, easy money in exchange for political favors. However, advocates say that no citizen You cannot contribute to a campaign, even with small donations.
Among the small donors (less than $200), Harris is imposed on Asset. The committees of the democrat raised the 41% of your funds (209 million) thanks to small contributions, while in the case of the republicans small donations mean 31% of its resources (83 million).
In addition to taking these records into account, in the election campaigns This also influences what is called out money (money from outside), i.e. investments made by interest groups to favor a specific candidate organized by independently and without interfering in the campaign. It is a gray area and difficult to follow.
According to Open SecretsTrump is taking advantage of this less controlled area with more $310 million invested in shares in their favor, while Harris There are some not insignificant ones. $257 million “outside money”.
And these investments, in the absence of certain 60 days for the elections November 5th will only increase, just like the campaign expenses in television commercials, billboards and social media actions, where the origin of the money and its impact are extremely difficult to trace.
