College life conjures visions of dingy dormitories, towering laundry piles and Ramen noodle-based diets.
But doling out tens of thousands of dollars to federal politicians?
Not for most young academics. Yet this distinction certainly holds true for Alexander Soros, recent college graduate and son of Democratic super-donor and hedge fund billionaire George Soros, who tops the list of student political donors this election cycle, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of federal campaign finance records.
“Elections are important, and I have the resources,” Soros said of the $73,800 he has donated to primarily Democratic federal candidates and political committees so far this election cycle.
In the run up to the 2010 midterm elections, Soros joins a handful of young, emerging political heavyweights, many of whom are related to other prolific political donors. And they’re helping tip the scales toward Democrats in the competition for students’ campaign cash, the Center’s analysis indicates.
The Democratic National Committee has obliterated the competition in funding from students this election cycle, accumulating $428,600 from student contributors nationwide. The Republican National Committee, the highest-ranking of any GOP-affiliated group, has received only $18,400 from student contributors — roughly one-twentieth of the DNC’s haul.
For Soros, backing Democrats is essentially supporting the better of two imperfect choices.
“Although I am disappointed in the Democratic Party and with our political process in general, there is no question in my mind that the country — and the world — will be better off if Democrats keep control,” Soros (pictured left) wrote in an e-mail to OpenSecrets Blog.
Despite these trends and sentiments, a Democrat isn’t the top candidate beneficiary of student givers.
Republican-turned-independent Charlie Crist has received more money from students than any other individual politician — $96,300 — in his quest for Florida’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Among House candidates, Jon Hulburd, a Democratic challenger for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, who is facing Republican Ben Quayle, the son of former vice president Dan Quayle in an open seat race, is the favorite among student contributors. Hulburd has collected more than $32,000 from students this cycle.
Michael Worley, a spokesperson for the College Democrats of America, isn’t surprised Democrats are accumulating the majority of student funds.
“The Republican Party is campaigning on a platform of cutting education spending by 20 percent,” Worley told OpenSecrets Blog. “This means that student aid will be cut during a period of skyrocketing tuition and fees, effecting students on campuses across the country.”
But Mark Issacson, president of the Harvard Republican Club, said Republicans are actually doing more to ensure prosperity for students after they graduate.
“In an uncertain economy, college students are particularly concerned about job prospects,” Isaccson said. “Republicans offer a clear view on economic policy that will provide stability.”
David Antaramian, a freshman at Sarah Lawrence College who has donated $30,400 to the DNC so far this election cycle, disagrees. He argues that the Republican Party is simply out of touch with students.
“The Republican Party’s leaders have adopted a hard-line, right-wing platform, which I don’t think students identify with,” Antaramian told OpenSecrets Blog.
Though registered in his home state of Florida as an independent, Antaramian, the son of wealthy Florida real estate developers, said he has chosen to back the DNC this cycle largely as a result of what he calls the current “social topic du jour” — gay rights.
Antaramian, who is gay, said his political activity this election cycle has primarily been based on gay rights issues, as well as women’s rights and public health care, which he hopes to see further reformed in the future.
“The money that I put forward comes from money originally designated as an investment for my future-self,” Antaramian said. “When I reached donating age, though, my parents and I realized that political contributions are just as important an investment in my future as a healthy portfolio.”
Antaramian added that though his parents are both very active political donors, with his mother being the more liberal of the two, he finds his own political views are “constantly evolving.”
Soros, likewise, agreed that Republican stances on social issues in particular are not in line with the values of diverse American college students, adding that for him, the political is especially personal this election cycle.
“I am the son of a Hungarian Jew who survived the Nazis … my politics are shaped by my family history and being Jewish,” Soros said. “I was raised to sympathize with other minorities and targets of bigotry.”
As a result, Soros, who is now seeking a doctorate in European and Jewish history, explained that partisan divides over social issues like immigration policy, gay rights and a public option for health care could account, at least in part, for the huge partisan gap in student donations.
“The Republicans have become so extreme in their rhetoric,” Soros said. “For me, the Tea Party is a movement of intolerance … My donations will help to combat this intolerance, I hope.”
That logic rings true for some, but not all, of the top student contributors to 2010 political candidates.
Of the top 10 individual student contributors, one has donated to Republican candidates or committees, the Center finds.
Andrea Catsimatidis, a 20-year-old New York University business student, has given $26,600 of her total $33,700 in campaign contributions this cycle to Republicans. Catsimatidis is the daughter of New York real estate developer and major political donor John Catsimatidis, who primarily gives his campaign cash to Democrats.
In addition to being the president of NYU’s chapter of the College Republicans, the younger Catsimatidis also has close personal ties to the Republican Party. She recently became engaged to Chris Cox, the 31-year-old grandson of President Richard Nixon. Earlier this year, Cox lost a Republican primary in New York’s 1st Congressional District. Catsimatidis did not answer requests for comment.
Below is a table of the top student givers this election cycle, along with the total amount contributed so far and percentages to Democrats and Republicans.
Federal law requires campaigns to disclose detailed information about all donors who give more than $200 — including their names, addresses, occupations and employers. The Center’s analysis examined individuals whose occupations were listed as “student” in these filings with the Federal Election Commission.
STUDENTS DONATING TO A VARIETY OF CANDIDATES AND COMMITTEES
While the partisan divide among student political contributors is staggering at first glance, there are several interesting trends.
For instance, the overwhelming support for Democrats in overall dollars and cents is mitigated by the individual candidates student donors are most likely to support — a roster that includes Republicans and independents. This may suggest that unlike their left-leaning peers, students aligned with the GOP are more interested in contributing to individual campaigns than national party committees.
Among the top five U.S. Senate candidates receiving student funding are Crist, anindependent, and two Republican candidates, William Binnie of New Hampshire, who was defeated during last month’s Republican Senate primary, and former George W. Bush cabinet member Rob Portman of Ohio. All three lead the fourth- and fifth-place recipients, Democrats Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev).
Among the top five House candidates receiving student funding, Democrats Hulburd, the Arizonan candidate, and Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) rank just slightly ahead of three Republican candidates — challengers William Flores of Texas and Nan Hayworth of New York, and Republican incumbent Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.). Perriello’s district includes Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia.
Among political committees, the DNC and RNC are bringing in the most student money for their respective parties. But students are also giving to a diverse array of political groups — those sanctioned by the parties and otherwise.
In addition to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the state Democratic committees for Michigan, Connecticut and Kentucky rank among the top recipients of student contributions, as doesEMILY’s List, a political action committee that generally supports Democratic women who back abortion rights.
Still, conservative groups such as 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’sFree and Strong America leadership PAC and the Illinois-based Family PAC have this cycle raked in $12,750 and $10,000, respectively, from students, the Center found. Some students are also giving to committees that are not explicitly partisan — including $15,000 to the Capital One Financial PAC and $10,000 to the Alzheimer’s Action PAC. Students have also given relatively large sums to more obscure committees, including $10,750 to the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC and $10,000 to both the National Pawnbrokers Association and theTurkish Coalition USA PAC.
WILL STUDENT CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS LEAD TO CAREERS IN POLTICS?
The top student political contributors show a mixed interest in making politics a career.
Antaramian, a self-professed atheist, is focusing on religious history, which he attributes to his family’s diverse ties to Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Armenian-Orthodox church. He said he currently has no plans or desire to run for office.
Soros, who studied politics and history as an undergraduate at New York University, said he does not plan to start campaigning any time soon, but isn’t ruling out the possibility.
“Sometimes I think about what it would be like to run for office one day,” Soros said. “Who knows?”
However, another young Democratic donor, Jacqueline Barkett, who has given $45,200 to Democratic interests this election cycle, has already begun working her way up the political ladder.
Barkett, who appeared on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 several years ago, now has a masters degree in communication from the University of Southern California and has interned at the White House, in addition to the offices of Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Barkett could not be reached for comment for this story.
Elena Barnes, daughter of former Speaker of the Texas state House and lobbyist Ben Barnes, has donated $47,200 to Democrats this election cycle, and federal filings suggest she may be considering joining the family business, since Barnes lists her father’s lobbying firm, Ben Barnes Group, as her employer.
In addition, Vaughan Bagley, a Stanford University student who has donated $30,400 to Democrats this cycle, has close family ties to government. She is the daughter of former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Elizabeth Bagley, and now lists her mother’s employer, the U.S. Department of State, on federal campaign filings.
Neither Barnes nor Bagley could be reached for comment.
CAN DEMOCRATS CHANNEL EDGE IN STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS INTO SUCCESS AT THE POLLS?
While campaign cash is surely appreciated, Democrats are also hoping to stimulate another record-breaking youth voting wave like the 2008 presidential election, when more than 21 million people between the ages of 18 to 29 voted. In doing so, they helped propel Democrat Barack Obama to the White House.
After all, Antaramian pointed out, votes are the end game.
“A vote is the biggest contribution one can make to any candidate’s campaign,” Antaramian said. “At the end of the day, the votes are tallied up, not the check book.”
Soros contends that money indeed plays a pivotal role in elections, though he personally would prefer a publically financed system of campaigning.
“I do feel a conflict,” Soros said. “I do not believe that elections should be privately financed. Ultimately, that’s incompatible with democratic principles.”
Regardless, this young group of campaign contributors still has a long way to travel in order to match the campaign cash of their elders.
Retired individuals — a category that includes many parents of the top student contributors — have dwarfed all other demographics, including students.
Together, retirees have given more than $98 million to federal candidates and political interests so far this election cycle.
Center for Responsive Politics researcher Douglas Weber contributed to this report.