The many bits of information made available from the leak of the Norm Coleman U.S. Senate campaign donor database, posted at Wikileaks on Wednesday, gives the public a glimpse into what type of people supported the Republican incumbent’s candidacy.

On Thursday, Smart Politics broke down the donor data by state; today this blog examines the occupation of those Coleman contributors whose identity was compromised in the database leak. While this list, first exposed in late January 2009, does not document the sum total of all Coleman reelection campaign donors, it does provide an interesting snapshot of those contributing to his campaign.

Although elite professionals top the list – with the legal profession, medical profession, middle management, and CEOs comprising 4 of the top 6 slots – they only tally about one-quarter of all donors (25.5 percent) on this list.

Excluding retirees (who, at 500 strong, contributed the most (10.6 percent)), attorneys and those involved in the legal profession were the most frequent contributors, with 349 giving to Coleman’s campaign from this donor list (7.4 percent).

The medical profession was the third largest group, with 317 donors, followed by homemakers with 307.

Those associated with business and finance comprised the largest subgroup – led by middle management (299), CEOs and executives (241), small business owners (190), accountants (183), salespersons (157), financial advisers and stock brokers (128), real estate interests (89), business analysts (70), insurance interests (41), banking interests (40), and those involved in marketing (39). Combined, these groups totaled 31.1 percent of donors whose private information was leaked.

Observers may be surprised to find a fair number of contributors from groups frequently associated with supporting Democratic candidates: K-12 educators (101), academics (86), students (51), writers and publishers (47), and artists and musicians (26) totaled 6.6 percent of the list.

Although more than 300 medical practitioners appeared on the list, relatively few individuals involved in the pharmaceutical (20) or health services industries (15) contributed to Coleman’s campaign.

Traditional blue-collar workers, such as truckers (23), factory workers (10), and maintenance workers (10) did not constitute a significant number of Coleman’s financial supporters.

Norm Coleman’s Compromised Campaign Donors, By Occupation

Rank
Profession
Number
Percent
1
Retirees
500
10.6
2
Attorneys / legal
349
7.4
3
Medical profession
317
6.7
4
Homemakers
307
6.5
5
Middle management
299
6.3
6
CEOs / executives
241
5.1
7
Small business owners
190
4.0
8
Accountants
183
3.9
9
Sales
157
3.3
10
Consultants
133
2.8
11
Information technology
131
2.8
12
Financial advisers / brokers
128
2.7
13
Education (K-12)
101
2.1
14
Real estate
89
1.9
15
Academics
86
1.8
16
Administrative assistants
75
1.6
17
Other business (analysts)
70
1.4
18
Software industry
62
1.3
19
Government employees
54
1.1
20
Students
51
1.1
21
Scientists
48
1.0
22
Writers and publishers
47
1.0
23
Contractors
46
1.0
24
Engineering
44
0.9
24
Design / architects
44
0.9
26
Insurance
41
0.9
27
Banking
40
0.8
28
Marketing
39
0.8
29
Armed services
34
0.7
29
Clergy
34
0.7
31
Airline industry
32
0.7
32
Artists / musicians
26
0.6
33
Truckers / drivers
23
0.5
34
Law enforcement / security
21
0.4
35
Pharmaceutical industry
20
0.4
36
Farmers
16
0.3
37
Health services
15
0.3
38
Advertising
14
0.3
39
Food industry
12
0.3
40
Factory
11
0.2
40
Maintenance
11
0.2
Other
270
5.7
No response
294
6.2
Total
4,715
100.0

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Posted in Campaign finances, Minnesota, MN US Senate, National Politics, U.S. Senate

6 Comments

  1. Cindy on March 13, 2009 at 10:21 am

    This was a comprised private list. In other words, not for public knowledge. What you just did compounded the problem.

    Reply
  2. Eric Ostermeier on March 13, 2009 at 10:25 am

    > This was a comprised private list. In other words, not for public
    > knowledge. What you just did compounded the problem.

    I am using aggregate information only. This blog will not post any information identifying individual donors.

    Reply
  3. Susan Brown on March 13, 2009 at 2:57 pm

    Smart journalism, thanks.

    Reply
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