Party Favors

Amy Keller | 2/1/2006

Florida ranks fifth in the nation in political contributions to federal officeholders and
national political parties for the current campaign cycle. Of some $20 million in donations through the end of October, 35.9% went to Democrats, while 63.9% went to Republicans.

Top 10 Recipients

SENATE CANDIDATESBill Nelson (D)
$8,491,090Katherine Harris (R)
$1,316,677
HOUSE CANDIDATESRon Klein (D)
District 22
$967,877E. Clay Shaw Jr.
(R)
District 22
$844,320Gus Bilirakis (R)
District 9
$741,153Vern Buchanan (R)
District 13
$588,096Tom Feeney (R)
District 24
$512,986Connie Mack (R)
District 14
$466,984Mark Foley (R)
District 16
$442,965Kendrick Meek (D)
District 17
$433,222

Florida Giving

Among counties where donors gave at least $150,000 to federal officeholders, Democrats received more than Republicans only in Palm Beach County. Below is a county breakdown of contributions from within the state:
CountyTo
DemocratsTo
RepublicansAlachua$34,210$59,032Baker$0$6,000Bay$63,061$84,265Bradford$0$1,600Brevard$65,599$242,227Broward$651,985$735,721Calhoun$0$300Charlotte$4,350$68,987Citrus$1,634$41,535Clay$4,775$45,721Collier$161,362$455,912Columbia$1,050$6,045De Soto $3,510$11,294Dixie$4,200$0Duval$292,471$404,737Escambia$7,462$140,653Flagler$2,750$9,375Franklin$2,500$1,030Gadsden$2,960$2,300Gilchrist$260$500Glades$2,500$1,000Gulf$8,530$5,290Hamilton$200$200Hardee$8,049$23,500Hendry$18,310$15,600Hernando$3,195$31,235Highlands$15,610$21,200Hillsborough$558,245$732,287Holmes$0$0Indian River$18,835$196,286Jackson$1,307$5,450Jefferson$3,240$6,700Lafayette$0$500Lake$13,819$230,657Lee$51,589$304,825Leon$145,457$130,055Levy$2,070$32,300Liberty$750$750Madison$1,260$700Manatee$91,164$407,663Marion$15,740$86,764Martin$32,675$220,477Miami-Dade$1,738,860$1,767,072Monroe$75,316$70,813Nassau$22,000$31,396Okaloosa$30,485$107,510Okeechobee$13,310$3,480Orange$360,184$607,667Osceola$13,165$28,245Palm Beach$1,804,098$1,762,225Pasco$7,787$85,610Pinellas$149,388$896,684Polk$31,061$227,497Putnam$3,350$15,675Santa Rosa$40,078$60,153Sarasota$242,231$639,076Seminole$44,920$241,191St. Johns$71,305$152,285St. Lucie$3,275$41,495Sumter$1,800$47,400Suwannee$520$2,133Taylor$260$10,400Union$0$2,000Volusia$66,568$167,637Wakulla$1,770$750Walton$20,790$22,700Washington$500$1,200STATEWIDE$7,239,727$12,894,571

Top Contributors

Top donors in Florida include law firms, a restaurant chain, investment groups and developers. The listings reflect donations to federal candidates and parties. The list of contributors doesn't reflect contributions only from the organization itself, but from its PAC, its individual members, owners or employees, and those individuals' immediate families. Totals listed under "top contributors" represent only those dollars raised within Florida and do not necessarily represent the total for the organization nationwide.
American Maritime Officers$467,000Outback Steakhouse$229,450US-Cuba Democracy PAC$176,264The Villages$150,000Greenberg, Traurig$147,070FPL Group$143,000Flo-Sun Inc.$118,750DEG Capital Partners$96,240Maher, Guiley & Maher$77,300National Action Committee$71,500Vistas Healthcare$67,000Energy Foods of America$65,600Group One Capital$58,400Rooney Holdings$58,000Amway/Alticor Inc.$56,600Akerman, Senterfitt & Eidson$55,954Njk Holding Corp.$55,500Coale, Cooley$54,800Ladex Corp.$54,000Terra Excavating$54,000

Leading Industries
(Florida contributors)

Retired$2,702,469Lawyers/Law Firms$1,742,694Real Estate$1,472,328Health Professionals$772,545Misc. Finance$695,687Misc. Business$502,720Transportation Unions$467,000Securities & Investment$402,379Food & Beverage$393,079 General Contractors$380,180
Note: Totals include contributions from PACs and individuals giving more than $200 to federal candidates or political parties.

Top ZIP Codes

The ZIP codes that are the source of most giving to federal officeholders and parties reflect a heavy concentration of wealth in southeast Florida.
33480 (Palm Beach) $983,99833134 (Miami)$398,00133133 (Miami)$388,12533156 (Miami)$383,73133401 (West Palm Beach)$334,55433143 (Miami)$332,14633496 (Boca Raton)$290,88333131 (Miami)$285,59932789 (Winter Park)$277,63434236 (Sarasota)$257,666
Note: Totals based on contributions of more than $200 from individuals to federal candidates, PACs and political parties. All the numbers here are based on Federal Election Commission data released electronically on Oct. 31, 2005.

Source: Center for Responsive Politics.
On the web: opensecrets.org/states/

Tags: Politics & Law, Around Florida, Government/Politics & Law