The Money Behind the Candidates

A look at who is bankrolling the 2016 election—and at which candidates are benefiting most from the biggest donations.
Published Oct. 28, 2015 at 1:10 ET

The Million-Dollar Donors
Election fundraising is about more than what candidates raise for their campaigns. Increasingly, candidates are aligned with super PACs and other outside groups that assist the campaigns but can’t coordinate directly with candidates. Because super PACs don’t face the $2,700-per-election limit that applies to campaigns, they can raise money more efficiently, tapping just a few donors for large donations.

Top Donors
through the second quarter
Robert Mercer

$11.3 million

Toby Neugebauer

$10 million

Kelcy Warren

$6 million

See for yourself
Some 66 companies or individuals have made donations of $1 million or more to super PACs aligned with candidates. Search below for their donations to PACs and campaigns:

All donorsGave to multiple candidates

Donor About Recipient Recipient amount 2016 Total
Mercer, Robert Co-CEO of New York-based hedge-fund firm Renaissance Technologies Cruz $11,000,000 $11,250,270
Mercer, Robert Co-CEO of New York-based hedge-fund firm Renaissance Technologies Jindal $250,000 $11,250,270
Mercer, Robert Co-CEO of New York-based hedge-fund firm Renaissance Technologies Fiorina $2,700 $11,250,270
Neugebauer, Toby Co-founder of Houston-based private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners; son of U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer of Texas Cruz $10,000,000 $10,000,000
Warren, Kelcy CEO of Dallas-based natural gas and propane firm Energy Transfer Partners Perry $6,000,000 $6,000,000
Braman, Norman Owner of auto dealer Braman Motors; former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles Rubio $5,000,000 $5,000,000
Deason, Darwin Former CEO of of Texas-based data processing firm Affiliated Computer Services Perry $5,000,000 $5,000,000
Hendricks, Diane Co-founder of roofing distributor Hendricks Holding Co., based in Wisconsin; No. 2 on Forbes list of richest self-made women Walker $5,000,000 $5,000,000
Wilks, Farris Farris and Dan Wilks are billionaire brothers from Texas who made their fortune in fracking. Husband of Jo Ann Wilks. Cruz $5,000,000 $5,000,000
Wilks, Jo Ann Wife of Farris Wilks Cruz $5,000,000 $5,000,000
Showing 1 to 10 of 88 entries
Who’s relying most on million-dollar donations
Some candidates have been heavily reliant on large-dollar donors to friendly super PACs. The PACs have traditionally been most effective in airing TV ads on a candidate’s behalf, but this cycle they’re taking on some roles traditionally performed by campaigns, such as coordinating volunteers and working with the press. For these candidates, a majority of combined campaign and super PAC fundraising came from donations of at least $1 million:

CRUZ

71% of total

HUCKABEE

54% of total

RUBIO

51% of total
Note: Percentages are a share of combined campaign and super PAC funding that came from donations of $1 million or more through the second quarter.

Who’s gotten the most in million-dollar donations

The super PAC aligned with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush raised $103 million in the first half of the year, far surpassing any other super PAC supporting an individual 2016 candidate. To do so, the group relied heavily on millionaires, whose donations accounted for more than a quarter of the super PAC’s overall haul. Here’s a look at who else raked in the most million-dollar donations through the first half of the year:

BUSH

24 donations
$28.4 million

CLINTON

11 donations
$12.2 million

CRUZ

6 donations
$36 million

RUBIO

4 donations
$12.5 million

KASICH

4 donations
$4 million

Jeb versus Hillary
Allies of Republican Jeb Bush and Democrat Hillary Clinton have been the strongest fundraising forces of the election cycle so far in their respective parties. But Mr. Bush’s fundraising has been heavily concentrated in his affiliated super PAC, while the bulk of Mrs. Clinton’s money has gone to her campaign. Since a campaign can solicit donations of only $2,700 per individual for a primary election, that leaves her less reliant on million-dollar donors than Mr. Bush.


Bush
Clintonon of $103 million total
$12The Small-Dollar Leaders
On the other side of the equation are candidates who have been largely bankrolled by donations of $200 or less. The level of small-dollar donations is often read as a sign of grassroots enthusiasm. Candidates who rely heavily on small donations have a key advantage: They can continue to tap the same donors for more money, while campaigns whose donors have hit the legal donation limit must find new donors to grow their war chests.

SANDERS

$30.7 million
77%

CARSON

$19.6 million
63%

CLINTON

$13.3 million
17%

CRUZ

$11.1 million
42%

PAUL

$4.5 million
58%
Note: Percentages are for all donations to the campaign through the third quarter, excluding any donations to super PACs.

Leading Industries in Each Camp
Industry support for a candidate sometimes signals that their policy interests are aligned. It's also often a reflection of where that candidate's experience lies.Top industries donating to each candidate or their aligned super PAC, as of most recently available data:this is dummy text to help with alignment

Jeb Bush
Industry Amount
Securities & Investment $31,356,814
Oil & Gas $9,840,160
Retired $9,346,895
Real Estate $9,166,367
Misc Finance $6,463,770

Hillary Clinton
Industry Amount
Retired $7,431,164
Lawyers/Law Firms $6,986,456
TV/Movies/Music $6,472,676
Securities & Investment $5,435,805
Women's Issues $2,970,700
Mrs. Clinton has major appeal in Hollywood and on Wall Street.

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Ted Cruz
Industry Amount
Real Estate $25,729,192
Securities & Investment $11,794,055
Retired $3,142,703
Lawyers/Law Firms $688,038
Misc Finance $674,038

Marco Rubio
Industry Amount
Automotive $5,082,630
Electronics Mfg & Equip $3,127,292
Health Professionals $2,816,462
Retired $2,384,533
Securities & Investment $1,948,191
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Mr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, drew many contributions from health professionals.

Ben Carson
Industry Amount
Retired $5,239,764
Health Professionals $539,535
Real Estate $279,236
Misc Business $276,591
Republican/Conservative $266,539

Chris Christie
Industry Amount
Securities & Investment $4,866,504
Retired $1,088,849
Non-Profit Institutions $1,027,050
Commercial Banks $777,520
Real Estate $722,688
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Rand Paul
Industry Amount
Securities & Investment $2,869,747
Electronics Mfg & Equip $1,183,701
Retired $828,699
Real Estate $321,360
Health Professionals $259,650

Carly Fiorina
Industry Amount
Business Services $1,638,243
Retired $1,444,557
Republican/Conservative $1,059,352
Securities & Investment $383,270
Real Estate $326,111
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this is dummy text to help with alignment
Mike Huckabee
Industry Amount
Poultry & Eggs $3,002,700
Recreation/Live Entertainment $509,672
Retired $383,712
Real Estate $113,465
Oil & Gas $82,200

Lindsey Graham
Industry Amount
Securities & Investment $1,878,750
Recreation/Live Entertainment $512,300
Retired $491,207
Lawyers/Law Firms $275,677
Real Estate $268,511
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Critics of Mrs. Clinton have drawn contrasts between her top donors and those of Mr. Sanders. Where she is popular on Wall Street, he drew heavily from the education sector.

Bernie Sanders
Industry Amount
Retired $862,896
Education $470,077
Lawyers/Law Firms $268,469
Health Professionals $264,086
Misc Business $259,724

Bobby Jindal
Industry Amount
Oil & Gas $1,301,000
Securities & Investment $465,650
Sea Transport $275,800
Health Services/HMOs $235,522
Business Services $168,750
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Martin O'Malley
Industry Amount
Lawyers/Law Firms $391,778
Retired $268,058
Real Estate $159,150
Beer, Wine & Liquor $150,030
Health Services/HMOs $117,612

John Kasich
Industry Amount
Retired $607,774
Lawyers/Law Firms $208,422
Real Estate $113,950
Misc Finance $78,650
Business Services $71,688
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George Pataki
Industry Amount
Retired $137,450
Real Estate $90,000
Misc Business $84,900
Oil & Gas $80,400
Health Professionals $53,350

Rick Santorum
Industry Amount
Retired $235,992
Misc Finance $145,850
Lawyers/Law Firms $37,850
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $28,400
Securities & Investment $24,600
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Donald Trump
Industry Amount
Retired $259,555
Automotive $91,839
Health Professionals $42,538
Misc Business $38,676
Real Estate $25,521

Jim Gilmore
Industry Amount
Republican/Conservative $110,000
Misc Finance $25,500
Retired $15,650
Oil & Gas $15,000
Lawyers/Law Firms $11,853
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Reporting by Rebecca Ballhaus and Randy Yeip; Production by Brian McGill;

Sources: The Campaign Finance Institute; Center for Responsive Politics; OpenSecrets.org
http://graphics.wsj.com/elections/2016/fec-donor-data/