The recipients of donations aren’t limited solely to individual candidates but also include parties, political action committees (PACs), the hybrid PACs known as Carey Committees, and tax-exempt 527 organizations.
Soros, operating under the aegis of Soros Fund Management, leads the pack of donors, with all of his donations going to Democratic candidates and causes.
The next three slots on OpenSecrets’ list are occupied by individuals who’ve spent lavishly to support Republicans. Richard Uihlein, CEO of shipping firm Uline, donated $80.7 million; Kenneth C. Griffin, CEO of the Citadel hedge fund, gave $68.6 million; and Jeffrey S. Yass, cofounder of technology firm Susquehanna International Group, and his spouse, Janine Yass, gave almost $47.3 million.
Some of the names on the list, such as entrepreneur Timothy Mellon, who occupies the fifth slot, donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates and causes. Of Mellon’s total of about $40 million, the vast majority went to Republicans, with $10,700 going to Democrats.
In all, 40 of the donors on the OpenSecrets list supported only Democrats, 32 helped only Republicans, and 28 contributed to both categories.
“I am not sure people should put significant trust in the polls. The trend over the past few cycles has been to underestimate Republican support. If that is the case this time, we should expect some surprises on election night,” Mark C. Smith, chair of the department of political science, history, and government at Cedarville University in Ohio, told The Epoch Times.
But in a field where donors of many different sizes and profiles come into play, the impressive number of megadonors sympathetic to Republican candidates doesn’t mean that the latter have had the edge in fundraising in 2021 and 2022.
Surveying Senate races in 2021–22, OpenSecrets found that here, too, Republicans fell short of Democrats. All told, 220 Democrat candidates raised $819.3 million, while 303 Republican candidates raised only $660.3 million.