Contractor employees give Obama twice as much as McCain

Employees of large federal contractors have contributed nearly $3 million to the two leading candidates for president, with about two-thirds of that sum going to the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, according to data analyzed by Government Executive.

During his 20-month campaign for the presidency, Obama has received more than 4,100 individual contributions, worth almost $2 million, from workers at the companies that made the top 50 on Government Executive's list of the biggest federal contractors in fiscal 2007. More than 64 percent of those donations -- about $1.3 million -- came after June 3, when the Illinois Democrat declared victory in the primaries over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

In comparison, employees of top 50 private contractors gave approximately 1,360 individual contributions, totaling nearly $1 million, to the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. About $660,000 -- or slightly less than 70 percent -- of those contributions came after the Arizona senator secured his party's nomination on March 5.

This analysis is based on data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group in Washington that tracks money in politics. The data, which only includes contributions of $200 or more, is accurate through Oct. 27. Government Executive analyzed donations from employees of private sector firms and did not include the University of California System (ranked No. 19), the only public sector entity among the top 50.

The numbers buck the conventional wisdom that federal contractors are more likely to line up behind Republicans, who generally support moving work from the government to the private sector. But Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, a trade group that represents contractors, said his members are too diverse to vote in any sort of bloc.

"Government contractors are no more monolithic than federal workers or any other federal interest group," he said. "Individuals are giving money based on their personal philosophies and their personal beliefs."

It is impossible to determine if contractor employees contribute to the candidate they believe will lead to the most new work for their company or if they give for completely unrelated reasons, such as the nominee's stance on foreign policy or social issues. But Soloway said he doubted that many contract workers think they can influence the direction of a large upcoming project through campaign donations, and neither campaign accepts money directly from the treasuries of federal contractors through bundled contributions or political action committees.

Obama received the most in contractor contributions from employees of IBM Corp., who gave him more than $415,000. Second on the list was the McLean, Va., consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., whose employees contributed more than $182,000. General Electric Co. employees ranked third, with more than $123,000.

Employees at FedEx Corp. topped the list for McCain, contributing more than $108,000. Lockheed Martin Corp. ranked second with $74,000 in employee contributions. Exxon Mobil Corp. rounded out the top three with more than $72,000.

While all 50 companies on the list have major government contracting divisions, some, including Exxon Mobil, FedEx, General Electric, IBM and General Motors, derive a high percentage of their revenue from nongovernmental interests. Government Executive did not attempt to distinguish between contributions from employees who work for these firms' government divisions and those who don't.

Unlike President Bush, who during his 2000 presidential campaign outlined a broad plan to let private sector companies bid on hundreds of thousands of government jobs, neither Obama nor McCain has promised a radical shift in the federal contracting landscape.

Obama has pledged to reduce spending on contracts by at least 10 percent, saving an estimated $40 billion annually. He also would increase the size and training of the government's acquisition workforce, require more audits of large contracts, and reduce the government's dependence on cost-plus contracts.

McCain has railed against troubled Defense Department contracts for weapons and services, blaming rapidly changing requirements and a lack of accountability for cost overruns and scheduling delays. The GOP nominee has said that as president, he would ban the use of cost-plus contracts and expand the use of fixed-price agreements.

Neither candidate has made procurement reform a centerpiece of his economic or government reform agendas, but both occasionally drop contractor references in stump speeches.

While discussing ethics reform, Obama often chastises the Bush administration for supplying Halliburton with billions of dollars in contracts to put out nonexistent Iraq oil fires. McCain, meanwhile, regularly mentions his role in killing a corrupt Air Force aerial refueling tanker contract with Boeing Co.

Despite the harsh rhetoric, employees at KBR Inc., the former Halliburton subsidiary, have contributed more than $18,000 to Obama and almost $16,000 to McCain. Boeing employees have given nearly $22,000 to McCain, though they did give more -- nearly $99,000 -- to Obama.

Obama's lead in contractor employee contributors mirrors larger national trends. According to CRP data, Obama has raised a total of $603 million, compared to $358 million for McCain.

Obama opted out of the presidential public financing system and has no limits on the amount of money he can raise. McCain has accepted public funds and is therefore limited in his fund-raising. According to the Arizona senator's Web site, the campaign has not raised private campaign contributions since Aug. 31.

"It's encouraging to see more Americans than ever participating and offsetting the traditional dominance of special interests and wealthy donors who might be expecting payback," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "The only payback the small donor is expecting is a victory on Election Day. And that's healthier for our democracy."

Contributions from employees of the 50 largest private federal contractors