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MERRILL LYNCH TOP CONTRIBUTOR TO BUSH AFTER THIRD QUARTER
Clark Raises More From Lawyers Than From Any Other Industry; Dean Relies Heavily on Professors
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Updated 10/17/03 -- Merrill Lynch, the financial services giant, tops the list of contributors to President Bush's re-election campaign through September of this year, with $364,000 in donations from employees and their immediate family members, according to a preliminary study of third-quarter campaign finance filings by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Merrill Lynch, whose CEO, Stan O'Neal, is listed by the Bush campaign as a "Ranger" who has raised at least $200,000, also topped the list of Bush contributors after the second quarter of this year. The company's total as of June 30 was more than $282,000, which already exceeded that of Bush's top contributor for the entire 2000 election cycle. Credit card giant MBNA led all organizations with $240,675 in individual and PAC contributions for Bush's first presidential bid.
UBS Americas, the securities holding company, is second among Bush's top contributors with $261,000 in individual and PAC contributions through Sept. 30. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest accounting firm, is third among Bush's top givers with $210,000 in contributions. Credit Suisse First Boston ranks fourth with $203,000. (Co-CEO John Mack is a Bush "Pioneer" who has raised more than $100,000 for the campaign.) Fifth is Goldman Sachs, with $197,000 in contributions.
Bush has raised more from lawyers and law firms ($5.4 million) than from any other industry so far this year. The real estate industry is his next most generous giver, with $4.9 million in individual and PAC contributions. Securities and investment firms follow with $3.8 million. Also among his top 20 industries are doctors and other health professionals ($2.0 million), insurance companies ($1.4 million) and the oil and gas industry ($953,000).
Bush has raised a total of more than $84 million for next year's election, and had more than $70 million in the bank as of Sept. 30. He has collected more money in his home state of Texas ($9.6 million) than from anywhere else. California ($8.3 million) is his second most generous state, followed by Florida ($7.3 million) and New York ($4.6 million).
The ZIP code where Bush has raised the most money is 10021 in New York City ($712,500), which was the biggest source of money overall outside Washington, D.C. in the 2002 and 2000 election cycles. His next highest ZIP code is 45243 in Cincinnati ($542,000). The Cincinnati area is home to a handful of loyal Bush donors: Mercer Reynolds, Bush's chief fundraiser; William DeWitt Jr., a Bush "Ranger" who, with Reynolds, helped Bush get started in the oil business; John Kern, a business partner of Reynolds and DeWitt who is a Bush "Ranger"; and Carl Lindner, a Bush "Ranger" and chairman of American Financial Group.
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