East Carolinian

Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Features

According to campaignmoney.com, North Carolina donors have contributed almost $15 million dollars to the 2008 presidential campaign thus far, equivalent to about $15,000 from each zip code. Individuals, families and businesses have donated their money to the campaign in several zip codes across the state. In Pitt County, donors have contributed approximately $175,730 alone to the 2008 elections.

The data also shows that certain occupational groups in Pitt County donate more than others. Out of the 214 donors that have contributed to the 2008 presidential campaign in Pitt County, 18 percent include retired or self-employed individuals, 15 percent include lawyers or attorneys and 7 percent include ECU faculty.

Jonathan Morris, assistant professor for ECU's department of political science, finds that the large number of retirees contributing to the 2008 campaign is not surprising. According to opensecrets.org, retired individuals nationwide have already contributed $38.6 million to the 2008 presidential campaign, making them the number two highest contributors in this year's race.

"They have the money to give, first and foremost, and they are more likely to think that they have something to gain from contributing," said Morris.

"Retired people have more time to keep track of what's going on in politics [and] their financial well-being is tied more closely to federal policies."

As for the number of lawyers and attorneys shelling out money to presidential candidates, political action committees (PACs) or political parties, the data from campaignmoney.com showed that these individuals or businesses donated regardless of party affiliation. For example, Thomas F. Taft, Sr. from the Greenville-based law offices of Taft, Taft & Haigler made several contributions to democrat John Edwards' campaign for president, but also made donations to the Butterfield for Congress Committee (a democrat) and the Walter Jones for Congress Committee (a republican). And Morris is not surprised.

"They're hedging their bets, mostly for one reason," Morris said. "You can't really show that money buys votes or influence, [but] what it does buy is access. [These people] are saying that whichever candidate makes it into office, they are going to be more likely to meet with them, talk with them, etc."

Opensecrets.org has named lawyers and law offices as the top contributors to this year's presidential campaign. Nationwide, they have donated at least $46.6 million to the campaign.

In Pitt County, 7 percent of all 2008-cycle political contributions made came from ECU faculty. Nationally, education professionals are the number nine source of income for the presidential campaign. They have given about $9 million of the donations so far.

"As a college professor, I'm not wealthy at all, but this is my chance to make some changes for the future," said Chris Mansfield, director for the ECU Center for Health Services and Research Development and a contributor to the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

Mansfield says that being a member of a university like ECU gives them a push to donate to presidential campaigns; however, he says that everyone should be involved in this year's land breaking elections.

"We have the luxury of being informed, but the stakes are no less important," Mansfield said.

"I think that this is an opportunity to make some fundamental changes to our nation and turn it into a democracy again instead of a plutocracy."

According to opensecrets.org, the 2007 filings of the presidential candidates' fundraising tallies show that campaign totals will soon surpass the 2004 race. The Center for Responsive Politics predicts that the individual presidential candidates alone will raise more than $1 billion-a first in any presidential campaign in history.



This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com

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