With campaign spending in the 2020 presidential election coming to a record-breaking conclusion, the political donations of American workers provide a snapshot of political leanings among employers and occupations.
According to a Bloomberg News analysis of contribution data from online donation platforms ActBlue and WinRed, the employers with the most workers donating to Biden ranged from universities to the federal government to tech companies, whereas Trump’s biggest donor bases came from mail delivery companies, Walmart and the military.
Of the employers included in this analysis, those whose employees tilted the most to Trump were the New York Police Department and the U.S. Marines, with almost 70% of employees who made contributions to one of the two presidential campaigns favoring the incumbent. The employers with the greatest share of Biden donors were Facebook and the University of Washington, with over 97% of their donors giving to Biden.
Spending in the 2020 presidential election will be more than $6.6 billion—double the total from four years ago—according to a report by the Center for Responsive Politics. Democrat Joe Biden has reported raising almost $1 billion in individual contributions to his campaign as of Oct. 14. President Donald Trump has raised about $600 million.
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In 2020, online donation platforms were the principal fundraising vehicles for campaign giving, especially as the coronavirus pandemic limited in-person fundraisers. Democrats had a head start raising through ActBlue, but WinRed has rapidly seen rapid growth since once Trump began to steer his supporters to it. The platforms have helped foster an explosion of small-dollar donations.
The Bloomberg News analysis of employee giving through ActBlue and WinRed doesn’t account for all itemized individual contributions, and doesn’t take into account how much people who aren’t employed gave this year. But contributions through the two platforms still account for 57% of all donations to the Trump and Biden campaigns this year, and provide a glimpse into the spending of donors who give less than $200 and aren’t otherwise reflected in Federal Election Commission reports.
Trump generally fared better with manual laborers, with 84% of donors who reported being ranchers and 75% of construction workers giving to him. The vast majority of donors who work as college professors, deans or who were otherwise employed by colleges or universities gave to Biden.
Over 19,000 donors who gave to Trump using WinRed listed their occupation, which is self-reported, as “homemaker,” compared to fewer than 900 Biden donors using ActBlue. (Almost five times as many donors to Trump included the word “wife” in their occupation title than Biden donors). Only 4% of donors who worked in non-profits donated to Trump, while 84% of donors who were ranchers gave to Trump.