DENVER - In US 2012 presidential election, the corporations, companies, business groups, banks, universities and US Government etc itself are contributing for the campaign of the candidates of their own choice and among these University of California and Goldman Sachs Group have emerged as the biggest contributors for President Obama and Mitt Romney’s campaign respectively.
And after this Microsoft Corp, Google Inc, Harvard University and Bank of America are also one of the top contributors for 2012 presidential campaign.
According to OpenSecrets.org, a nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on US elections and public money and maintained by the Centre for Responsive Politics (CRP) that is a research group based in Washington DC, the top contributor for Democrat candidate President Barack Obama’s election campaign is University of California that has contributed $1,092,906 and the second biggest contributor for him is Microsoft Corp that has contribution of $761, 343 followed by Google Inc $737,055, US Government $627,628 and Harvard University $602,992.
Similarly, the top contributor for Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign is Goldman Sachs Group, an American multinational investment banking firm that is engaged in global investment banking, securities, investment management and other financial services, which has contributed $994,139 for this purpose. The second biggest contributor for his campaign is Bank of America that has $921,839 contributions and after this Morgan Stanley $827,255, JPMorgan Chase & Co $792,147 and Credit Suisse Group with contributions of $618,941 stand at the third, fourth and fifth positions.
The Centre for Responsive Politics’ online database, that is compiled on the basis of information regarding US election spending released by Federal Election Commission says, “The organisations themselves did not donate, rather the money came from the organisation’s PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families. Organisation total include subsidiaries and affiliates”,
Looking at the top industries’ contributions for presidential campaign through the data of CRP, retired industry and lawyers/law firms are top contributors for Obama and retired as well securities and investment industry is on the top to contribute for the Mitt Romney. Education, health professionals and business services industry come for Obama at third, fourth and fifth number while real estate, lawyers/law firms and health professions come for Romney in the same way.
For Obama, retired industry has contributed $50,002,197, lawyers/law firms $25, 130, 021, education industry $19, 528, 183, health professionals $9,460,088 and business services $7, 821,996. And for Romney, retired industry is at the top who has contributed $56,306,153; then securities and investment industry that has contributed $19,610,445, real estate $12,942,203, lawyers/law firms $12,267,294 and at the end health professionals who has donated $10, 198,075.
If we go through the state vise contributions, California is on the top for Obama campaign that has contributed $57,721,104, New York has $34,343,867, Illinois $16, 386,435, Massachusetts $15,861,350 and Texas has contributed $14,058,942 for Obama.
And California outnumbers other states with regards to contributions for Mitt Romney with the total money of $36,415,714 followed by Texas $30, 650,731, Florida $27,072,235, New York $22,558,510 and Virginia $11,689,877.
With regard to sector wise contributions for presidential campaign, agribusiness has contributed $1,881,709 and $6,340,486 for Obama and Romney respectively; similarly communications/electronics sector $18,885,143 and $6,443,001for both respectively; construction sector $3,723,263 and $8,148,634; defence $985,575 and$1,061,629; energy and natural resources $2,172,790 and $8,621,846; finance, insurance and real estate $18,718,167 and $52,108,339 and health $16,901,498 and $15,342,167 for Obama and Romney respectively. Similarly, lawyers and lobbyists sector has contributed $25,531,710 and $13, 638, 350 for Democrat and Republican candidate respectively, transportation $1,218,873 and $5,011,332; miscellaneous business $19, 963,821 and $24,410, 405; labour sector $413,394 and $3,250; ideological/single issue $12,087,160 and $6,915,310 and others $83,438,998 and $63,007,960 for President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney.
 Imran Mukhtar is our staff reporter, who is currently in the US to cover the presidential elections.