Number of Lobbyist-Fundraisers for 2008 Presidential
Candidates Likely to Eclipse 2004 Totals

Sept. 6, 2007

Some of the 2008 presidential candidates recently made headlines by declaring their intentions to accept – or decline – money from lobbyists.

A Public Citizen Web site, on-line at www.WhiteHouseforSale.org, provides the fullest information available on the presidential candidates’ mega-fundraisers, called bundlers for their role in bundling the contributions of other people into large sums. We decided, in view of the national conversation on bundling and lobbyists, to take a close look at the fundraising role of lobbyists for the 2008 campaign. 

The number of registered lobbyists raising money for 2008 presidential candidates is already nearing the total for the entire 2004 campaign – despite the fact that most of the 2004 lobbyist-fundraisers are not yet involved.

So far, Public Citizen has identified at least 92 federal lobbyists acting as fundraisers for the 2008 presidential candidates. [See Appendix] In comparison, 136 lobbyists were on the lists of fundraisers released by the 2004 presidential candidates for the entire election. Starting today, Public Citizen’s on-line database at www.WhiteHouseforSale.org will indicate whether the 2008 fundraisers we identify have registered as federal lobbyists.

Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton each list more than twice as many lobbyist-fundraisers than any of their respective party’s other presidential candidates. All of the candidates using lobbyists as bundlers are listed in the following chart.

Lobbyist-Fundraisers for the 2008
Presidential Candidates

Candidate	Number of Lobbyists
John McCain	32
Hillary Clinton	18
Mitt Romney	13
Rudy Giuliani	12
Barack Obama	7
Fred Thompson	6
Bill Richardson	3
Chris Dodd	1
John Edwards	1

Clinton’s disproportionate use of lobbyists is unsurprising because the two opponents closest to her in the national polls (Barack Obama and John Edwards) have publicly stated that they will not take money or fundraising help from federal lobbyists. The fact that the chart above shows Obama and Edwards with a handful of lobbyist-bundlers stems from a difference between those candidates’ definition of a lobbyist and that used in the methodology used for this study. We counted all individuals who had ever registered as federal lobbyists, regardless of whether they are currently registered. An updated methodology for Public Citizen’s project is available here.

Insight into the significance of lobbyists who are fundraising for the Republican candidates is greatly diminished by the candidates’ paltry disclosures.

Despite the promises of the three leading announced Republican candidates to disclose the identities of their bundlers, most have yet to do so, or to provide information about how much their bundlers have raised. (Rudy Giuliani has provided some information to the news media, but has not made the data directly available to the public. Giuliani’s campaign has not responded to Public Citizen’s requests for his list of bundlers.) There is therefore no way to measure how much help, if any, the Republicans’ lobbyist-fundraisers are actually providing.

Given this lack of publicly available information, Public Citizen is using statements by the Republican candidates that name their honorary finance chairs and other fundraising team members to build lists of their likely bundlers.

The three leading Democrats, in contrast, have publicly released their bundler lists. Clinton and Obama release bundlers’ names after each has raised either $100,000 (Clinton) or $50,000 (Obama). Edwards provides no details about the amounts raised by his bundlers.

Most 2004 Lobbyist-Bundlers Are Still On the Sidelines For 2008

George Bush, John Kerry and Howard Dean, the three 2004 candidates who released lists of bundlers, reported fundraising activity by 136 federal lobbyists. Fewer than 30 percent (28.7 percent) of those lobbyists have yet surfaced on the 2008 candidates’ fundraisers’ lists.

In-house, or salaried, lobbyists seem particularly to be holding back. Only two in-house lobbyists for corporations are yet listed as fundraisers for the 2008 candidates. In 2004, in-house lobbyists for numerous corporations – including such major entities as American Family Life Assurance Co. (AFLAC), American International Group, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Northwest Airlines, UST and Verizon – signed up as official fundraisers for presidential candidates.

The decline in fundraising activity by in-house lobbyists has also been dramatic among lobbyists employed by trade associations. While 12 trade association lobbyists raised money for the 2004 candidates (10 of whom supported Bush), only two are now signed up to work for 2008 candidates. They are American Chemistry Council President Jack Gerard, who raised at least $100,000 for Bush in 2004 and is supporting Republican Mitt Romney in 2008, and National Association of Wholesaler Distributors President Dirk Van Dongen, who raised at least $200,000 for Bush in 2004 and is fundraising for Republican Rudy Giuliani.

The fact that only a minority of 2004 lobbyist-bundlers are currently involved as fundraisers for the 2008 presidential candidates may be due in part to the lack of a clear front runner, especially on the Republican side.

Lobbyist and superstar Republican fundraiser Richard Hohlt indicated he had reservations about plunging into an intensive effort to raise $50,000, $100,000, $200,000 or more for a presidential candidate under the current circumstances. Hohlt was anointed a Bush “Pioneer” in 2000, meaning that he funneled at least $100,000 in donations to that campaign, and was dubbed a “Super Ranger” in 2004, meaning that he raised at least $200,000 for the Bush-Cheney reelection effort plus another $300,000 for the Republican National Committee.

In the 2008 campaign, Hohlt’s name has surfaced on the fundraiser lists of two Republican candidates, McCain and Fred Thompson. When Public Citizen asked Hohlt who he was actually supporting, Hohlt suggested that he was surveying the field, acknowledging that he had contributed to both McCain and Thompson, and adding that he planned to give to a third Republican candidate, Giuliani.

But the money from his own pocket that Hohlt has so far provided the 2008 candidates pales in comparison to the fundraising he did for Bush in his two presidential campaigns. Hohlt said that he was reluctant to begin doing that kind of fundraising before the prospects of the candidates become clearer.

“I’m waiting to see how it all shakes out,” Hohlt told Public Citizen.

When Does a Lobbyist Cease to be a Lobbyist?

While Democratic presidential hopefuls John Edwards and Barack Obama have adopted policies of not accepting lobbyists’ contributions or fundraising help, Hillary Clinton has refused to decline lobbyists’ help.

In the analysis presented here, all people registered as federal lobbyists since 1998 (the earliest year for which federal lobbying registration data is available online) are counted as lobbyists. This definition includes people who were once registered lobbyists, and may still be lobbying but are not devoting enough time or effort to lobbying to trigger reporting requirements. The definition captures at least seven of Obama’s fundraisers (three of whom were registered as recently as 2006) and one Edwards fundraiser. The Edwards and Obama campaigns define lobbyists only as those individuals currently lobbying, a status that is impossible to confirm because disclosure documents for the current year are not yet fully available.

Bundlers for Barack Obama Who Have Registered As Federal Lobbyists

Name	Most Recent Year of Reported Lobbying Activity	Employer When Last Registered	Client(s)	Bundler’s Name Released by Campaign?
Scott Harris	2006	Harris Wiltshire and Grannis	Clients in 2005 and 2006 included Dell Inc., Microsoft Corp., 3G Americas and Wi-Fi Alliance	Y
Thomas A. Reed	2006	Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP	Clients in 2005 and 2006 included Nanobusiness Alliance, Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC)	Y
Alan Solomont	2006	Solomont Bailis Ventures	Clients In 2005 And 2006: Cambridge Health Alliance And Boston Medical Center	Y
Thomas J. Perrelli	2003	Jenner and Block	In 2002 and 2003, represented the American Survivors Of Aug. 7, 1998 Bombings Of Embassies In Kenya & Tanzania. Reported less than $10,000 in income in each six-month reporting period.	Y
Frank Clark	2000	Commonwealth Edison	Represented his employer, Commonwealth Edison	Y
Tom Wheeler	2003	Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association	Represented firm his employer, Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association	Y
Robert S. Litt	2002	Arnold and Porter	In 2002, represented Recording Industry Association Of America	N

One of Edwards’ bundlers, Scott Tyre, was listed as a registered federal lobbyist in 2003. But Tyre told Public Citizen that he has never engaged in federal lobbying. He said that his former law firm incorrectly listed him as a federal lobbyist in 2003 and that he had requested a correction. (No amendment appears on the secretary of the Senate’s lobbying disclosure Web site.) Tyre noted that the Edwards campaign in 2004 returned his contribution, in keeping with Edwards’ policy of forsaking lobbyists’ aid.

Anecdotal Data about 2008 Lobbyist-Bundlers

• At least ten 2008 lobbyist-bundlers are former members of Congress. McCain counts five members-of-Congress-turned-lobbyists as supporters: Former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and former Reps. James A. Courter (R-N.J.), Kent Hance (D-Texas), Steve Kuykendall (R-Calif.) and Thomas G. Loeffler (R-Texas). Clinton supporters include former Rep. James J. Blanchard (D-Mich.), who also served as governor of Michigan, and former Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.), the Democratic Party’s 1984 vice presidential nominee. Supporters of Fred Thompson include former Sen. Mack F. Mattingly (R-Ga.). and former Rep. Robert L. Livingston (R-La.). Former Rep. Rick A. Lazio (R-N.Y.) is supporting Romney.
   
• Six of the presidential candidates’ lobbyist-bundlers ranked among the top 80 in a 2006 Public Citizen study of contributions by lobbyists and their immediate families to members of Congress. They are McCain supporter Wayne Berman, who ranked 23rd, giving $194,700 between 1998 and 2006; McCain supporter Tom Loeffler, who ranked 26th, giving $187,526; Richard Hohlt, who has provided support to at least two 2008 Republican presidential candidates and ranked 45th among lobbyist donors, giving $159,325; Giuliani supporter Lanny Griffith, who ranked 74th, giving $130,346; and McCain supporters Charlie and Judy Black, whose combined giving of $125,900 placed them 79th.
   
• A review of Public Citizen’s studies of lobbying efforts relating to major legislative issues in recent years reveals the following about some of the current lobbyist-bundlers and the issues they have worked on:

-Giuliani supporter Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, spearheaded the Tax Relief Coalition (TRC) an alliance of some 1,000 business organizations created in 2001 at the behest of former White House political chief Karl Rove to press for President Bush’s tax cut proposals. Van Dongen acknowledged that the coalition’s main priority was fighting for repeal of the estate tax, an issue he has regularly lobbied on throughout the Bush administration. Van Dongen has also lobbied on myriad other tax issues, as well as proposals to cap liability for firms facing asbestos claims, and a bill, approved in 2005, to force class action lawsuits into federal court.

-Three 2008 lobbyist-bundlers besides Van Dongen were part of a swarm of at least 475 lobbyists who worked on the class action legislation. They are McCain supporters Charlie Black and David Metzner and Clinton supporter Steve Ricchetti, who served as deputy chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton.

-McCain supporter Loeffler and Giuliani supporter W. James Jonas III lobbied on rules governing implementation of a provision in the 2002 farm bill to require country-of-origin labeling for perishable food products. Both lobbied on behalf of Sam Kane Beef Processors Inc. Beef processors and supermarkets have successfully stalled implementation of the law.

Appendix : Federal Lobbyists Listed as Fundraisers for the 2008 Presidential Candidates

Lobbyist	State	Candidate
Scott Baugh	CA	Mitt Romney
Wayne Berman	DC	John McCain
Matthew Bernstein	DC	Hillary Clinton
Charlie Black	DC	John McCain
Judy Black	DC	John McCain
Kirk Blalock	VA	John McCain
James J. Blanchard	MI	Hillary Clinton
Norman Brownstein	CO	Bill Richardson
Gregory B. Butler Sr.	CT	Mitt Romney
Kerry Cammack	TX	John McCain
Alberto R. Cardenas	FL	Mitt Romney
Susan Charlton	AZ	John McCain
Ellen Chesler	NY	Hillary Clinton
Timothy A. Chorba	DC	Hillary Clinton
Frank Clark	IL	Barack Obama
John Clerici	VA	John McCain
James Courter	NJ	John McCain
Kurt Davis	AZ	John McCain
Lanny Davis	MD	Hillary Clinton
Daniel Dumezich	IN	Mitt Romney
Kevin Fay	VA	John McCain
Geraldine A. Ferraro	NY	Hillary Clinton
Chris Fidler	WA	John McCain
Thomas Fiorentino Jr.	FL	John McCain
Laurance Gay	CT	John McCain
Jack Gerard	VA	Mitt Romney
Gordon D. Giffin	GA	Hillary Clinton
David Girard-diCarlo	PA	John McCain
Michael Glassner	NJ	John McCain
Matthew A. Gorman	MD	Hillary Clinton
Michael Govan	VA	Rudy Giuliani
Phil Gramm	TX	John McCain
Robert T. Grand	IN	Mitt Romney
Lanny Griffith	DC	Rudy Giuliani
Kent Hance	TX	John McCain
Scott Harris	DC	Barack Obama
William G. Harrison Jr.	FL	Mitt Romney
Yashar Hedayat	CA	Hillary Clinton
Rachel Jones Hensler	VA	Fred Thompson
William V. Hilleary	TN	Fred Thompson
Richard Hohlt	VA	Fred Thompson & John McCain
Gaylord T. Hughey Jr.	TX	John McCain
Peter Huntsman	TX	John McCain
Mickey Ibarra	MD	Bill Richardson
W. James Jonas III	TX	Rudy Giuliani
Ronald C. Kaufman	DC	Mitt Romney
Michael Kempner	NJ	Hillary Clinton
William Kilberg	VA	John McCain
Steve Kuykendall	CA	John McCain
Rick A. Lazio	NY	Mitt Romney
Reta Jo Lewis	DC	Hillary Clinton
Jack Lichtenstein	VA	John McCain
Robert S. Litt	MD	Barack Obama
Robert L. Livingston	DC	Fred Thompson
W. Timothy Locke	VA	Fred Thompson
Thomas G. Loeffler	TX	John McCain
Patricia L. Lynch	NY	Hillary Clinton
Milam Mabry	VA	Rudy Giuliani
Mack F. Mattingly	GA	Fred Thompson
Garry  Mauro	TX	Hillary Clinton
Linda Maynor	AL	Rudy Giuliani
Mike McKay	WA	John McCain
John Merrigan	DC	Hillary Clinton
David A. Metzner	VA	John McCain
John Munger	AZ	John McCain
Terry Neese	OK	Rudy Giuliani
Christopher O'Neill	DC	Chris Dodd
Craig Pattee	VA	Mitt Romney
Stephen P. Payne	TX	Rudy Giuliani
Thomas J. Perrelli	VA	Barack Obama
Heather Miller Podesta	VA	Hillary Clinton
Peter J. Powers	NY	Rudy Giuliani
Michael Racy	AZ	John McCain
David A. Rancourt	FL	Mitt Romney
Thomas A. Reed	VA	Barack Obama
Steve Ricchetti	DC	Hillary Clinton
Raul Romero	VA	Rudy Giuliani
Thomas L. Siebert	MD	Hillary Clinton
Alan Solomont	MA	Barack Obama
Michael J. Stratton	CO	Bill Richardson
Richard Sullivan	DC	Hillary Clinton
Fife Symington	AZ	John McCain
Eric Tanenblatt	GA	Mitt Romney
Peter Terpeluk Jr.	MD	Rudy Giuliani
John Thrasher	FL	Mitt Romney
Scott Patton Tyre	WI	John Edwards
Dirk W. Van Dongen	DC	Rudy Giuliani
Raymond T. Wagner Jr.	MO	John McCain
Tom E. Wheeler	DC	Barack Obama
Tony Williams	WA	John McCain
Michael J. Zarrelli	MD	Rudy Giuliani
Fred Zeidman	TX	John McCain