Wall Street spent $2.9B on campaigns, lobbying in 2020 election: study

A new study from the progressive group Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) found that Wall Street executives, employees and trade associations invested nearly $3 billion in the 2020 election cycle.

The study, first published by CNBC on Thursday, found it was the most money Wall Street had invested into an election cycle since 2016, when it spent around $2 billion.

“Year in and year out, this torrent of money gives Wall Street an outsized role in how we are governed, while driving and protecting policies that help this industry’s super wealthy amass even greater fortunes at the expense of the rest of us,” AFR’s executive director, Lisa Donner, told CNBC.

The top financial companies to contribute to the 2020 election cycle included: Bloomberg, the National Association of Realtors, Citadel LLC, the Blackstone Group and Charles Schwab & Co.

Out of the $1.9 billion that went to backing candidates for federal office, 53 percent went to Democrats and 47 percent went to Republicans, according to the study.

Workers in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors donated the most to President Biden’s campaign, with more than $250 million invested in the Democratic candidate. Former President Trump received more than $100 million from the same sector.

The report found House Republicans who objected to certifying the Electoral College results following the Jan. 6 riot were among some of the top recipients of donations from the financial sector, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.).

Senate campaigns that received more than $300 million from the financial sector include those of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).