From Apple to Facebook, Silicon Valley's midterm money trail
The 2018 midterm cycle is expected to be the most expensive in history – and corporate America hasn’t missed its chance to contribute.
According to estimates from the Center for Responsive Politics, money spent by candidates, parties, committees, PACs and outside groups could total about $5 billion – which would break records.
Some of the biggest businesses across the country also saw meaningful contributions among individuals and affiliates. The Center for Responsive Politics analyzed contribution data among workers and PACs at the biggest companies in the U.S., which found employees at the largest tech companies – many of which are based in California – contributed more heavily to Democrats than Republicans.
Here’s how money was spent:
Apple
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show Apple CEO Tim Cook has backed one Democratic candidate in California, Rep. Zoe Lofgren.
However, at the company as a whole, employees and PACs have donated to Democratic candidates at a ratio of 35 to 1: They gave more than $1.3 million to Democrats and more than $38,000 to Republicans this election cycle.
Top recipients included Rep. Beto O’Rourke from Texas and junior United States Senator Doug Jones from Alabama.
Amazon
Amazon employees and affiliates also contributed to Democrats at a higher rate than Republicans – a ratio of about 1.8 to 1. Individuals and PACs at the e-commerce giant spent $1.78 million to support left-leaning candidates, compared with about $966,036 to Republicans.
Meanwhile, CEO Jeff Bezos donated $10 million to the With Honor Fund, which aims to help veterans from both parties get elected to Congress.
While federal records show that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has personally made no donations – he and his wife are involved with an initiative that has given money for specific causes. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has spent almost $300,000 this midterm cycle, and most of her spending has gone toward helping female Democratic candidates, and women-oriented political initiatives. Sandberg authored the New York Times bestseller “Lean In,” a guide to helping women achieve their goals.
Facebook workers and PACs spent $1.437 million on Democratic and left-leaning candidates, compared with $401,768 on Republicans – a rate of about 3.5 to 1.
Top recipients include Texas’ O’Rourke and Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democratic senator from Missouri.
Alphabet
Google’s parent company Alphabet contributed nearly $5.1 million to Democratic candidates and more than $1 million to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That is a rate of about 5 to 1.
Federal records do not indicate that co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have contributed to candidates from either party.
The candidates that have received the most money from Alphabet employees and affiliates include O’Rourke and Jacky Rosen – a Democratic candidate from Nevada.
Republican-dominant companies
Blackstone Group, AT&T, Marathon Petroleum and Honeywell are among the companies where donations to Republicans exceeded Democrats.