Stanford Politics

The 2020 election cycle is in full swing with candidates campaigning all across the country. In addition to holding rallies and kissing babies candidates for all levels of office have been raising money to finance their campaigns. Stanford Politics looked into publicly available data about how Stanford faculty and staff are donating to different campaigns. All donations above $200 dollars (and many donations under $200) are reported to and published by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The following 8 graphs explore the role Stanford has been playing in this year’s election cycle so far.

In looking at the total amount raised by each 2020 presidential candidate home state Senator Kamala Harris leads the pack with the most money raised from folks at Stanford. Stanford alumni Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro round out the top three.

Looking at the number of unique donors tells a different story. While in the middle tier for total fundraising dollars, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts clocks in at fourth for number of donors. Notably only two individuals from Stanford, both administrative staff, have donated to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Senator Warren and Mayor of South Bend, Indianna Pete Buttigieg join the top three when looking at the number of contributions. Senator Harris still tops the list.

The FEC requires that donors to campaigns self report their occupation and employer. While many donors simply stated “Stanford University” as their employer, some were more specific. Interestingly, every donation made by an employee of Stanford’s Hoover Institution was to a Republican candidate or committee. No reported donations, however, were made to President Trump.

Contrastingly, every donation from a self-identified employee of Stanford Law School was to a Democratic candidate or committee.

Over the course of the first two quarters, Stanford donations ebbed and flowed, but a major spike occurred at the end of the first quarter. The surge began on June 26, the date of the first Democratic debate.

The maximum amount that can be donated to a campaign this cycle is $2,800. Many donors from Stanford have maxed out their donations to candidates, especially to Senators Harris and Booker.

In true Nerd Nation fashion, folks at Stanford have donated to a number of scientific and academic political organizations. The American Society of Anesthesiologists PAC has received a total of $4,800!