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As the Dow edges slowly toward the magical 12,000 mark, it makes one wonder. There is a solid likelihood that at least the House will become Democratically controlled after the coming mid-term elections. Are investors not concerned about the Democrats seizing control of the legislative body? Business leaders, especially those of the huge corporations like those that make up the Dow, and other financial heavy hitters, have the reputation of being staunch Republicans. Are they really? We should take a look at some campaign contributions to make sure. After all, they probably put their money where their sentiments lie.

To check this out, I examined campaign contributions given by leaders of the Dow Jones Industrial Average component firms. Information was not forthcoming regarding all CEO's or presidents contributions, however what was available turned up some interesting facts. Fist was that most of the corporate CEO's, presidents and other leaders were not so partisan as you might expect. While they tended to give a majority of their political campaign contributions to one party or another, most spread them around. In addition, most corporate leaders gave a significant amount to PACs and other special interest groups, instead of giving all their donations to one party or another.

They gave quite a bit to both parties, and from many states besides their home states. This leads one to a few conclusions.

1. They freely donate to those candidates where important issues can impact their firms. More research should be done on this subject to back up the conclusion.

2. They know where their bread is buttered. If you want to get things done in Washington, you've got to get someone's attention. More often than not, that someone will be from the party in power, but they'll not stay there forever, and the CEO's know that. They've got to be sure the grease doesn't wear off as the congressional makeup changes.
   

Dow Jones Component Company Leaders

Altria Group Inc. (formerly Phillip Morris) CEO – Louis Camilleri
He really spread it around. In the space of 24 months between the end of 2003, and the beginning of 2005, Mr. Camilleri donated liberally to both Democrats and Republicans.

Nov, 2005 Max Baucus (D) $2,500

Oct, 2005 Chuck Hagel [R] $1,000

Sept, 2005 Bill Thomas [R] $2,500

June 2005 Trent Lott [R] $1,000

May, 2005 Sue Myrick [R] $1,000

Oct, 2004 Altria Group PAC $5,000

July, 2004 Federal Victory Fund $2,000

May, 2004 Every Republican Is Crucial PAC $2,000

Mar, 2004 Bill Jennings (D) $2,000

Chris Shays [R] $1,000

Feb, 2004 Chuck Schumer (D) $1,000

Volunteer PAC $600

Jan, 2004 Mike McIntyre (D) $2,000

Dec, 2003 Steny Hoyer (D) $2,000

Eric Cantor [R] $2,000

Roy Blunt [R] $2,000

John Spratt (D) $2,000

Davis Thomas [R] $2,000

Ron Lewis [R] $2,000

Mr. Camilleri's donations trended Republican, but he also gave significant amounts to Democratic campaigns.

Martin Sullivan, CEO of insurance giant AIG, is a somewhat different matter. Between Mar of 2003 and 2006 he donated almost exclusively to Republican candidates, with the exception of multiple donations to Democrat Thomas Carper from Delaware, totaling $2,000. His total donations for the period were just over $21,000.

Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express, was almost exactly the opposite of Mr. Sullivan. Between 2006 and 2002, his donations were almost exclusively to Democratic candidates with the exception of $2,000 to Rick Santorum and $1,000 to Peter King, both Republicans. He also gave $25,000 to the American Express PAC during this time. His total donations to candidate's campaigns from 2002 – 2006 totaled $24,000.

Ed Whitacre of AT&T must not be the giving type, or he camouflages his donations well. He gave a single donation, $1,000 to Republican candidate for Congress, Mike McCaul in 2004.

Tractor maker James Owen, of Caterpillar Inc. is an exclusive Republican donor. Between 2003 and 2006, he gave a total of $7,000 to Republican candidates, and a further $1,000 to the RNC. He also slid a grand to the Cat Employees Ass'n. PAC.

Charles Prince, CEO of Citigroup was another equal opportunity political donor. Between 2003 and 2006 he gave substantial donations to candidates from both parties, with an edge to the Democrat candidates, but more contributions to Republican organizations. The total donations were the same to both political parties. He contributed $2,000 to the Bush presidential campaign in June of 2003, but that followed a Kerry contribution of an equal amount in May of the same year. From 2003 -2006, he gave $10,000 to Republican congressional candidates while donating $15,000 to Democrats. The CitiGroup PAC was given a little over $8,000. The largest single beneficiary of his largess, however, were the Senatoral committees both parties. Both the RSC and DSC, benefited to the tune of $15,000. The RNC got an additional $5,000.

Long time Coca-Cola CEO E. Neville Isdell donated almost exclusively to the Coca Cola Nonpartisan Committee for Good Government. To they extent they are either for good government, or non partisan, I have no idea. His only direct political contributions were $2,000 to Democrats in the mid '90s.

Charles Holliday, CEO of DuPont, tended more toward the Republican side of the isle, but gave to both parties candidates. He donated $3,400 directly to Republican candidates and $4,000 to Democratic ones. When it came to Party Committee giving however, he was exclusively Republican, dropping a total of $5,500 in the laps of the RNC and Republican State Committee of Delaware.

In a following post, I'll examine more Dow CEO's political tendencies.