WASHINGTON — U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday.
Troops serving abroad have given nearly six times as much money to Obama’s presidential campaign as they have to McCain’s, the Center for Responsive Politics said.
The results also are striking because they favored Obama, who’s never served in the military.
McCain is a decorated war veteran who spent nearly five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. The Arizona senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and had a 22-year career as an aviator.
Obama has opposed the war in Iraq and says he would withdraw combat troops within 16 months. McCain has been a steadfast supporter of the war, saying he would withdraw the troops only when conditions on the ground warrant it.
“Obama will work tirelessly to uphold this nation’s sacred trust with its veterans, to ensure they are not forgotten after they return home . . .,” Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro said.
McCain’s campaign played down the significance of the donations.
“John McCain has been endorsed by more retired admirals and generals than Barack Obama has military donors,” McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb said in a statement.
