Where Wall Street bigwigs are putting their money in 2020 election
As fundraising numbers continue to roll in from lawmakers and potential 2020 contenders, some Wall Street heavyweights have made their way into the fray.
President Trump raised more money than any other candidate, with his campaign saying over the weekend that it raised more than $30.3 million in the first three months of the year, bringing his total in excess of $40 million. The average contribution was $34.
Trump’s coffers were boosted by Robert Mercer – former hedge fund CEO, Breitbart News investor and Republican mega donor – who gave the Make America Great Again Committee $10,000, according to FEC filings, as first reported by Politico. Mercer was a big supporter of Trump’s 2016 campaign as well.
The Take Back the House joint fundraising committee – linked to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) – received donations from Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, and his wife. According to filings, they gave about $1.5 million. Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin also gave $343,100 to the committee, while the CEO of Blackstone Group, Stephen Schwarzman, gave $161,800.
Meanwhile, McCarthy also received contributions from hedge fund managers John Paulson and Daniel Loeb, totaling $100,000 apiece. Billionaire investor Paul Singer gave $253,500.
Billionaire businessman, and former presidential candidate, Ross Perot contributed to the campaign of Rep. Steve Scalise (R.-LA). Scalise currently serves as Minority Whip.
For the Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received $200,000 from the businessman who owns the Manchester United soccer club and NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Avram Glazer.
When it comes to 2020 candidates, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders fell in step behind Trump, with his campaign saying it raised about $18.2 million in the first quarter from 900,000 individuals. The average contribution size was $20. Overall, his campaign said about 84 percent of individual donations were less than $200.
President Trump tweeted on Tuesday night that he thought “Crazy Bernie Sanders” and “Sleepy Joe Biden”, who has not formally declared his candidacy, would be the two finalists among a slew of Democratic hopefuls.
California Sen. Kamala Harris raised $12 million which included sizable donations from a number of Hollywood heavyweights, like actor Ben Affleck and filmmaker J.J. Abrams. Her campaign said most of the donations were less than $100.
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Former Texas lawmaker Beto O’Rourke raised $9.4 million from 218,000 contributors. Among those contributors were two financial heavyweights. The co-founder of investment firm Centerbridge Partners Mark Gallogy and a managing director at Macquarie Capital both sent $2,800 apiece to O’Rourke’s campaign, as reported by CNBC.
A recent report from RBC Capital Markets found that a majority of investors, 71 percent, think Trump will be reelected in 2020.