By Jonathan D. Salant
Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain's presidential campaign lacks the support of several Republican-leaning industries central to President George W. Bush's record-setting fundraising four years ago.
Democrat Barack Obama has captured $9.6 million in donations from employees working for securities, mortgage and drug companies, compared with McCain's $6.6 million. In 2004, people in those industries gave $10.6 million to Bush and $5.4 million to Democratic nominee John Kerry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group in Washington.
McCain's inability to match Bush's performance in attracting traditional Republican donors illustrates the fundraising gap between the candidates. Obama is seeking to bring in double or triple the $84.1 million in federal funds that McCain will have to spend in the final two months before the Nov. 4 election. In June, Obama declined to accept public financing, which caps his spending at the federal allotment.
Not all Republicans ``are opening their wallets to a McCain presidential run,'' said Mallory Factor, a banker who co-hosts a weekly meeting of conservatives in New York and raised more than $1 million for Bush and his party four years ago.
Some Republicans who ``support certain principles'' are shunning McCain, Factor said, citing the Arizona senator's initial opposition to Bush's tax cuts and his authorship of a campaign-finance law opposed by many in his party.
Iraq Issue
Disdain for McCain is combined with enthusiasm for Obama in some quarters. Many of the brokers, bankers and traders in the securities industry, who contributed $9.2 million to Bush and $4.8 million to Kerry four years ago, are now Obama supporters, motivated by issues such as the Illinois senator's opposition to the Iraq War. Obama has received $8.9 million and McCain $6.3 million from the industry from Jan. 1, 2007 through June 30 of this year, according to the center.
Their support comes even as Obama seeks higher taxes for wealthy Americans. He's pushing a rollback of Bush's income tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year. The average salary on Wall Street was $339,910 in 2006, according to the New York State Comptroller.
``Many people on Wall Street believed they had made enough money in life and were more concerned about the war and the generational effect that Obama brings to this election,'' said Richard Hunt, a Washington-based lobbyist for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which represents Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.
Goldman, Merrill
Employees of New York-based Goldman Sachs, the biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, were Obama's top donors among all companies through June. McCain's top backers work at New York-based Merrill Lynch, according to the center.
The mortgage industry also favors Obama over McCain after supporting Bush over Kerry. Employees in the industry, including those working for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, gave $278,937 to Obama and $133,475 to McCain. In 2004, they gave Bush $867,169 and Kerry $294,252.
Obama has called for programs to refinance mortgages, offer credits to homeowners who don't itemize, increase federal and state scrutiny of mortgage fraud and allow bankruptcy judges to change mortgage terms. McCain focuses primarily on refinancing loans.
`Unknown' McCain
``At least the mortgage industry knows what will be coming down the pike with Obama,'' said former Mortgage Bankers Association lobbyist Howard Glaser, who now runs his own consulting firm. ``McCain is more of an unknown for them.''
Obama, 47, also fares better than McCain among donors in the pharmaceutical industry. While drug-company executives and employees have given 52 percent of the industry's money for the 2008 elections to Republicans, Obama has received more than three times as much as McCain, $450,094 to $132,575. Four years ago, donations to Bush almost doubled Kerry's, $516,839 to $280,688.
McCain, 71, has said the industry charges Medicare and Medicaid too much for their products, and said in a debate earlier this year that ``the power of the pharmaceutical companies'' keeps drug prices high.
Republican lobbyist John Feehery said the lack of some industry donations helps McCain.
``He does go after these companies and they don't like it,'' Feehery said of McCain. ``This solidifies McCain's reputation as someone who fights special interests.''
Oil and Gas
Even so, the presumptive Republican nominee has won support from many industries that traditionally support his party. Employees working for oil and gas companies gave him $1.4 million through June 30, almost four times the $398,765 they gave to Obama. Four years ago, they gave $2.7 million to Bush and $313,860 to Kerry. McCain supports removing the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
Transportation industry employees supported McCain by a 2-1 margin over Obama, $1.7 million to $814,382, as they gave 61 percent of their money to Republicans. Four years ago, they backed Bush over Kerry by $4.8 million to $685,041. McCain is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees airlines and railroads.
Feehery said that industries now snubbing his party will start giving to Republicans again.
``They'll be hedging their bets and as McCain looks stronger, they'll be giving just as much money to him as they have to Obama,'' he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.
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