November 5, 2013

Which Companies Dominate Your State’s Politics?

See which sector wrote the biggest checks to political campaigns in your state in 2012.


Voters across America are heading to the polls today for state and local elections, and just like in federal elections, big business has been writing big checks to campaigns across the country. To follow the money in your state, see which industry topped the list of campaign contributions in the last election cycle:

ENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYENERGYREALESTATEENERGYTELECOMTECHREAL ESTATEREALESTATEREALESTATEREALESTATEREALESTATEREAL ESTATEREALESTATEREAL ESTATEFINANCEFINANCEFINANCEGAMBLINGHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHHEALTHMANU-FACTURINGREAL ESTATEREAL ESTATEMANU-FACTURINGGAMBLINGHEALTHREAL ESTATEREAL ESTATEFINANCETECHCorporate campaign contributions, 2012 election cyclegasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasgasfinancegasgasgasgasfinancehealthgashealthhealthfinance

Using data from www.FollowTheMoney.org, we mapped which industries gave the most to state-level campaign donors for the 2012 election (ballot initiatives and party PACs excluded) and limited our search to the top business in each state. We also excluded unions, law firms, and nonprofits, since political giving from these entities can be associated with a variety of industries.

It's important to note that many contributions are made by individuals, and an individual donor's industry or occupation is not necessarily connected to their giving. We could expect gifts under the category of "Health," for instance, to include both donations from hospital chains and the personal contributions of doctors and nurses.

To make the map easier to read, we grouped related industries under a single color. "Real Estate" for instance, includes donations by individuals and groups connected to both construction and the sale of buildings.

*In California and Maryland, we have included the industry with the second-highest total of contributions, because the designation of the top industries in those states requires additional reporting.

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That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

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Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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