As the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries approach, Columbia affiliates—including students, professors, staff, and administrators—have demonstrated their support for candidates through campaign donations. Cory Booker (D-NJ) leads the way as the candidate with the most money raised through University-affiliated donations, according to data released by the Federal Election Commission.
But while Booker may have raised the highest total amount of money in campaign donations from Columbia affiliates, he isn’t the candidate who received the highest number of donations. Rather, Bernie Sanders (D-VT) saw the most individual donations, with 275 Columbia affiliates donating overall. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) follows closely after Sanders, with 179 affiliate donations, and Booker comes in third with 43.
Democrat
Total of 712 contributions to Democratic
candidates from Columbia affiliates.
Widths of lines represent number
of contributions
15
91
46
43
275
173
Harris
Biden
Trump
Buttigieg
Warren
Booker
Sanders
Republican
The only Republican Columbia affiliates have contributed to is Trump.
15
Buttigieg
Harris
Biden
Warren
Trump
Booker
Sanders
Democrat
Total of 712 contributions to Democratic
candidates from Columbia affiliates.
Widths of lines represent number
of contributions
15
91
46
173
43
275
Warren
Biden
Trump
Booker
Sanders
Buttigieg
Harris
Republican
The only Republican Columbia affiliates have contributed to is Trump.
15
Trump
Democrat
Total of 712 contributions to Democratic
candidates from Columbia affiliates.
Widths of lines represent
number of contributions
15
91
46
173
43
275
Buttigieg
Biden
Harris
Warren
Booker
Sanders
Republican
The only Republican Columbia affiliates
have contributed to is Trump.
15
Trump
According to FEC data as of Sept. 30, 2019, Columbia affiliates have raised a total of $20,879.91 for Booker—the second-highest amount raised by a university for his campaign, tailing right behind Stanford University, which raised $37,981.67. Booker, a New Jersey native, has based his campaign on key issues such as fighting for economic and racial equality and advocating for marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform, among others.
Top 10 university contributors to Booker, Sanders, Warren campaigns
Cory Booker
University of Washington
University of Kansas
Stanford University
Rutgers University
NYU School of Medicine
New York University
MIT
Eastwick College
Columbia University
Berkeley College
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
0
Bernie Sanders
University of Washington
University of Michigan
University of Illinois
University of Chicago
University of California
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Stanford University
Harvard University
Columbia University
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
0
Elizabeth Warren
Yale University
University of Washington
University of Pennsylvania
University of Michigan
University of California
UCLA
UC Berkeley
MIT
Harvard University
Harvard Law School
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
0
Top 10 university contributors to
Booker, Sanders, Warren campaigns
Cory Booker
University of Washington
University of Kansas
Stanford University
Rutgers University
NYU School of Medicine
New York University
MIT
Eastwick College
Columbia University
Berkeley College
0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
Bernie Sanders
University of Washington
University of Michigan
University of Illinois
University of Chicago
University of California
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Stanford University
Harvard University
Columbia University
0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
Elizabeth Warren
Yale University
University of Washington
University of Pennsylvania
University of Michigan
University of California
UCLA
UC Berkeley
MIT
Harvard University
Harvard Law School
0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
Top 10 university contributors
to Booker, Sanders,
Warren campaigns
Cory Booker
University of Washington
University of Kansas
Stanford University
Rutgers University
NYU School of Medicine
New York University
MIT
Eastwick College
Columbia University
Berkeley College
0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
Bernie Sanders
University of Washington
University of Michigan
University of Illinois
University of Chicago
University of California
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Stanford University
Harvard University
Columbia University
0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
Elizabeth Warren
Yale University
University of Washington
University of Pennsylvania
University of Michigan
University of California
UCLA
UC Berkeley
MIT
Harvard University
Harvard Law School
0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
But as a candidate who isn’t a Columbia alumnus and doesn’t have any direct ties to the University, it may come as a surprise for many that Booker is a frontrunner in money raised through campaign donations.
According to political science professor Donald P. Green, whose research focuses on voting behavior, partisanship, and campaign finance, a potential answer for Booker’s popularity among the Columbia community may arise from his relative proximity to the University and his ideological outlook.
“He’s from New Jersey and many of our faculty and students in the community live in New Jersey and commute to campus. He’s also a fairly congenial person in terms of his outlook to Columbia faculty and staff,” Green said.
He went on to note the discrepancy between Booker’s lead as the candidate with the highest amount of affiliate-raised campaign donations and his total number of donations.
“[Booker’s] donors are obviously digging more deeply into their pockets to make donations, which is why the absolute dollar figures are a little bit misleading,” Green said.
Of the 43 Columbia affiliates who donated to Booker, the most common type of affiliation was professor, senior researcher, and alumni. On the other hand, Sanders, who had nearly six times the number of donors than Booker did, largely received donations from Columbia affiliates who were teachers, academics, and reading specialists. Sanders has raised a total of $15,935.10 from Columbia affiliates as of Sept. 30, 2019.
Columbia affiliate donations to candidates by contributor type
Postgraduate
Law/Politics
Faculty
Academia
Student
Medicine/Science
Finance/Economics/Corporate
Admin
Teaching positions
Other
Graduate students
Education
100
200 donations
Warren for President, Inc.
Pete for America, Inc.
Marianne Williamson for President
Kamala Harris for the People
Julian for the Future
Inslee for America
Gillibrand 2020
Friends of John Delaney
Friends of Andrew Yang
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
De Blasio 2020
Cory 2020
Bullock for President
Biden for President
Beto for America
Bernie 2020
Bennet for America
Amy for America
Other includes donor titles film projectionist, fundraiser, journalist, librarian, programmer,
psychiatrist, public health, reading specialist, tech manager, writer.
Columbia affiliate donations to candidates by contributor type
Finance/Economics/Corporate
Postgraduate
Academia
Student
Admin
Law/Politics
Graduate students
Education
Medicine/Science
Teaching positions
Faculty
Other
100
200 donations
Warren for
President, Inc.
Pete for America, Inc.
Marianne Williamson
for President
Kamala Harris
for the People
Julian for the Future
Inslee for America
Gillibrand 2020
Friends of John Delaney
Friends of Andrew Yang
Donald J. Trump for
President, Inc.
De Blasio 2020
Cory 2020
Bullock for President
Biden for President
Beto for America
Bernie 2020
Bennet for America
Amy for America
Other includes donor titles film projectionist, fundraiser, journalist, librarian, programmer,
psychiatrist, public health, reading specialist, tech manager, writer.
Columbia affiliate donations to
candidates by contributor type
Academia
Faculty
Graduate students
Admin
Postgraduate
Education
Student
Law/Politics
Other
Teaching positions
Medicine/
Science
Finance/Economics/
Corporate
200 donations
Warren for
President, Inc.
Pete for America, Inc.
Marianne Williamson
for President
Kamala Harris
for the People
Julian for the Future
Inslee for America
Gillibrand 2020
Friends of
John Delaney
Friends of
Andrew Yang
Donald J. Trump for
President, Inc.
De Blasio 2020
Cory 2020
Bullock for President
Biden for President
Beto for America
Bernie 2020
Bennet for America
Amy for America
Other includes donor titles film projectionist,
fundraiser, journalist, librarian, programmer,
psychiatrist, public health, reading specialist,
tech manager, writer.
Emmaline Bennett, CC ’20, an organizing committee member of the Columbia-Barnard Young Democratic Socialists for America, isn’t surprised that Sanders received the most number of donations.
“One of the big things about Sanders’ campaign has been appealing to individual donors who are just ordinary working-class people, who might not be able to write a $100 check, or max out their individual donations,” said Bennett. “But they can give $20 or $5—like I’ve given a bunch of small donations to the Sanders campaign because that’s how much I’ve been able to give.”
Democrat
Total contribution of $105,225 to Democratic
candidates from Columbia affiliates.
Widths of lines represent
amounts contributed
$12,232
$9,091
$14,615
$20,879
$15,935
$9,585
Buttigieg
Harris
Biden
Warren
Trump
Booker
Sanders
Republican
$6,549
Biden
Trump
Buttigieg
Harris
Warren
Booker
Sanders
Democrat
Total contribution of $105,225 to Democratic
candidates from Columbia affiliates.
Widths of lines represent
amounts contributed
$12,232
$9,091
$14,615
$20,879
$15,935
$9,585
Warren
Biden
Trump
Booker
Sanders
Buttigieg
Harris
Republican
$6,549
Warren
Biden
Trump
Booker
Sanders
Buttigieg
Harris
Democrat
Total contribution of $105,225
to Democratic candidates
from Columbia affiliates.
Widths of lines represent
amounts contributed
$12,232
$9,091
$14,615
$20,879
$15,935
$9,585
Buttigieg
Biden
Booker
Harris
Warren
Trump
Sanders
Republican
$6,549
Trump
Green also highlighted how Sanders is known as a “brand name associated with left-leaning politics,” an attribute which would make him an attractive candidate to Columbians.
Sanders’ campaign primarily focuses on progressive issues such as tuition-free college, Medicare for all, campaign finance reform, and a $15 minimum wage. But like Booker, Sanders doesn’t have any direct affiliations with Columbia—he graduated from the University of Chicago and served as a U.S. representative for 16 years before being elected to the U.S. Senate.
Columbia affiliate donations to all democratic candidates
First debate
June 26–27, 2019
Second debate
July 30–31, 2019
Third debate
September 12, 2019
15 donations
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Bernie Sanders
Joe Biden
15 donations
15 donations
10
10
5
5
0
0
Jun
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Cory Booker
Kamala Harris
15 donations
15 donations
10
10
5
5
0
0
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Pete Buttigieg
Elizabeth Warren
15 donations
15 donations
10
10
5
5
0
0
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Note: October marker represents the end of FEC-reported data (September 30).
Columbia affiliate donations to
all democratic candidates
First debate
June 26–27, 2019
Second debate
July 30–31, 2019
Third debate
September 12, 2019
15 donations
10
5
0
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Bernie Sanders
Joe Biden
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
0
Aug
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Sept
Oct
Jun
Jun
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Mar
Apr
Oct
Cory Booker
Kamala Harris
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
0
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Elizabeth Warren
Pete Butteggieg
15
15
10
10
5
5
0
0
Jun
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Oct
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Jun
Note: October marker represents the end of FEC-reported data (September 30).
Columbia affiliate donations to
all democratic candidates
Third debate
First debate
Second debate
15 donations
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Bernie Sanders
15
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Joe Biden
15
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Cory Booker
15
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Kamala Harris
15
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Pete Butteggieg
15
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Elizabeth Warren
15
10
5
0
Mar
Apr
May
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Jun
Note: October marker represents the end
of FEC-reported data (September 30).
Though Booker and Sanders currently hold forefront positions in the eyes of Columbia affiliates, Green notes that donation patterns and results are subject to change in the near future.
“I would say that the thing to be on the watch for is what happens after Iowa and New Hampshire. Some of these candidates will get a bounce, and some will be booted out of contention. And the question is what happens to fundraising patterns after that,” said Green.
Staff writer Vidhima Shetty can be contacted at vidhima.shetty@columbiaspectator.com.
Staff graphics reporter Charlotte Li can be contacted at charlotte.li@columbiaspectator.com .
Graphics deputy editor Raeedah Wahid can be contacted at raeedah.wahid@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec.
