As Presidential Candidates Seek Finance Sector Money, Wall Street Donors Flock Most to Mitt Romney

According to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, the financial sector ranks among the top three sectors backing all major presidential candidates, and stands as the No. 1 sector for three of them.

Those three presidential contenders are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

The finance, insurance and real estate sector, also called the FIRE sector for short, ranks as the No. 2 source of campaign cash for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Georgia businessman Herman Cain.

Even for the candidates who have relied the least upon the financial sector -- President Barack Obama and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) -- these interests still rank as their No. 3 financial backer, according to the Center's analysis.

Overall, the FIRE sector has contributed about $16 million to all presidential candidates since the race began earlier this year, according to the Center's research. That's essentially the same amount as the No. 1 sector, the general business sector, which has so far donated $16.1 million. No other sector has contributed more.

The finance sector accounts for more than 23 percent of Romney's total war chest, more than any other candidate.

Romney, a former executive at Bain Capital, has collected more than $7.5 million from interests within the FIRE sector since he launched his campaign earlier this year, according to the Center's preliminary analysis of the latest campaign finance reports. Overall, Romney has raised more than $32.2 million for his 2012 presidential effort.

Romney has received nearly twice as much as Obama from the finance, insurance and real estate sector, according to the Center's preliminary analysis. Still, Obama has raised about $3.9 million from the FIRE sector -- about 4.4 percent of his overall $89 million war chest.

During his 2008 presidential bid, the finance sector donated more than $42 million to Obama's campaign, and Wall Street interests alone contributed more than $15 million. Since then, as president, Obama pushed through financial regulatory reform legislation, which he has touted as containing the "strongest consumer protections in history" -- much to the consternation of the finance community.

While Obama's relationship with Wall Street has cooled over his time in office, certain figures in the securities and investment industry remain influential, with dozens of Wall Street-connected individuals bundling money for his re-election effort.

Romney has also raised nearly four times as much from these interests as Perry. Nevertheless, the finance, insurance and real estate sector still accounts for more than $1 out of every $9 Perry has collected. These interests have given Perry about $2 million, out of the $17.2 million he has raised from all sources.

Furthermore, Romney has received more than twice as much as Obama from the securities and investment industry, according to the Center's research, and nearly 10 times as much from Wall Street interests as Perry.

Additionally, Romney has also collected about twice as much as Obama from commercial banks -- and more than three times from these interests as much as Perry. Romney has raised $523,250 from commercial banking interests, while Obama has raised $254,250 and Perry has raised $161,400.

The securities and investment industry alone accounts for $1 out of every $9 Romney has raised: more than $3.56 million. Meanwhile, Obama has collected about $1.6 million from Wall Street interests -- less than 2 percent of his overall fund-raising haul. And Perry has received about $375,300 from these interests, according to the Center's research. That's about 2.2 percent of his total war chest.

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