WASHINGTON — Even as protests over its political influence grow louder, Wall Street is one of the leading sources of money so far in the 2012 race for the White House.
The biggest beneficiary has been Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign-finance watchdog group.
A former chief executive of a successful private investment firm, Romney has attracted $7.5 million from the financial community, the center found. That is nearly double what President Barack Obama has received from it and almost a quarter of the $32 million that Romney’s campaign has taken in overall.
“Romney brings with him a lot of connections in the business world and Wall Street community, and those connections are paying dividends as he runs for president,” said Michael Beckel, a spokesman for the center. “We noticed that, so far, the biggest financial institutions have all preferred Mitt Romney.”
Indeed, the former Massachusetts governor is the top recipient of campaign cash from employees of the five biggest Wall Street banks. Goldman Sachs gave the most — $352,200. The firm paid a $550 million settlement last year in a fraud case that grew out of the subprime mortgage scandal that helped bring the U.S. economy to near collapse in the late 2000s.
The other banks were Morgan Stanley ($184,800), Bank of America ($112,500), JP Morgan Chase & Co. ($107,250) and Citigroup Inc. ($56,550).
A spokesman for the Romney campaign could not be reached for comment.
Financial support from the big banks and investment houses associated with the 2008 Wall Street meltdown could cut both ways, however.
Anti-Wall Street demonstrators are growing in number nationwide and around the globe, but their political impact remains unclear and will likely depend upon their staying power. At a minimum, the protests have become a channel for public anger over rising economic inequality and Washington’s ineffectiveness.
Obama had raised about $3.9 million in Wall Street contributions as of the end of September. That’s about 4 percent of his overall haul so far of $89 million, which dwarfs the GOP field.
Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas, was third in the Wall Street money chase. A late entrant to the race, Perry has raised about $2 million in support from the financial community. That is out of the $17.2 million he has raised to this point.
