An
informal
Washington
Blade
survey
of
gay
and
lesbian
activists
and
celebrities
who
have
made
contributions
to
candidates
running
for
president
in
2008
shows
that
Democratic
Sen.
Hillary
Rodham
Clinton
of
New
York
received
the
lion’s
share
of
their
money.
Among
a
sample
of
35
gay
contributors,
including
gay
movie
director
Bryan
Singer,
Clinton
received
contributions
from
18
of
them,
totaling
$50,750.
Coming
in
a
distant
second
behind
Clinton
was
Democratic
Sen.
Barack
Obama
of
Illinois,
who
received
contributions
from
six
of
the
gay
activists
or
celebrities
totaling
$10,300.
Republican
Rudy
Giuliani,
the
former
mayor
of
New
York,
came
in
third,
with
$9,400
from
four
donors.
The
non-scientific
survey
was
conducted
by
entering
the
names
of
140
prominent
gay
activist
leaders
and
a
dozen
gay
or
lesbian
entertainment
or
business
figures
into
the
Federal
Election
Commission’s
database
for
individual
contributors
to
candidates
running
for
president.
Out
of
a
total
sample
of
152
potential
gay
or
lesbian
donors,
FEC
records
show
that
only
35
had
given
money
to
a
presidential
candidate
running
in
the
2008
election
as
of
June
30,
2007,
the
latest
date
for
which
the
FEC
has
released
campaign
finance
data.
The
FEC
records
show
that
all
but
two
or
three
of
the
individuals
who
had
not
given
money
to
a
2008
presidential
candidate
had
made
at
least
one,
if
not
several,
contributions
to
presidential
and
congressional
candidates
in
past
election
years.
This
finding
indicates
that
gay
rights
advocates
are
likely
to
contribute
money
routinely
to
candidates
running
for
public
office.
Under
federal
election
laws,
individual
contributors
can
give
no
more
than
$2,400
to
a
presidential
candidate
in
the
primary
election
and
no
more
than
$2,400
to
a
presidential
contender
in
the
general
election.
Individual
donors
may
give
a
maximum
$4,600
to
a
presidential
candidate
all
at
once,
during
the
primary
campaign,
but
the
candidate
is
prohibited
from
spending
the
second
half
of
the
contribution
unless
or
until
he
or
she
wins
the
nomination.
If
the
candidate
doesn’t
win
his
or
her
party’s
nomination
for
the
general
election,
the
candidate
is
required
to
return
the
“general
election”
portion
of
the
contribution
to
the
donor.
The
FEC
only
keeps
records
of
individuals
making
contributions
of
$200
or
more
to
candidates
running
for
federal
office,
such
as
president
or
the
U.S.
House
or
Senate,
or
to
federal
office-related
committees,
such
as
a
political
party
or
political
action
committee,
or
PAC.
In
the
Blade
survey,
former
Sen.
John
Edwards
of
North
Carolina
came
in
fourth,
receiving
$9,250
from
two
contributors.
Republican
Sen.
John
McCain
of
Arizona
came
in
fifth,
with
$5,100
from
two
contributors.
McCain
was
followed
by
Sen.
Christopher
Dodd
of
Connection,
a
Democrat,
who
received
$4,600
from
one
donor;
Republican
Tommy
Thompson,
the
former
Secretary
of
Health
in
the
administration
of
President
George
W.
Bush,
who
received
$2,300
from
one
donor;
and
Democratic
Sen.
Joe
Biden
of
Delaware,
who
received
$2,000
from
one
donor.
Thompson
has
since
dropped
out
of
the
race.
The
sample
of
gay
activists
was
taken
from
the
ranks
of
the
boards
of
directors
of
Human
Rights
Campaign,
the
nation’s
largest
gay
political
group;
and
the
boards
of
the
National
Stonewall
Democrats
and
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
who
represent
gay
Democrats
and
Republicans
respectively.
Other
gay
activists
were
chosen
for
the
sample
because
of
their
prominent
roles
in
Democratic
or
Republican
causes
as
well
as
non-partisan
gay
rights
causes.
Among
the
gay
entertainment
industry
figures
found
to
have
given
money
to
one
or
more
presidential
candidate
were
David
Geffen;
Barry
Diller,
the
television
industry
producer
and
cable
TV
channel
owner;
Bruce
Cohen,
the
television
and
film
producer;
and
Bryan
Singer,
the
Hollywood
film
director.
One
of
the
surprises
of
the
survey
was
a
contribution
made
by
New
York
gay
Republican
activist
and
real
estate
developer
Donald
Capoccia,
who
served
briefly
in
a
Bush
administration
post
on
the
U.S.
Fine
Arts
Commission.
Capoccia
gave
the
maximum
allowable
contribution
of
$4,600
to
Giuliani,
which
could
be
expected,
but
gave
an
additional
contribution
of
$2,100
to
Obama.
Capoccia
could
not
be
reached
by
press
time.
FEC
records
show
he
has
given
to
a
number
of
Democratic
congressional
candidates
in
New
York
over
the
years,
including
gay-supportive
Rep.
Jerrold
Nadler
(D-N.Y.).
Gay
Republican
activist
Carl
Schmid
of
Washington,
who
has
given
$2,550
to
the
Giuliani
campaign,
said
most
gay
Republican
activists
appear
to
be
lining
up
behind
Giuliani.
Schmid
noted
that
Giuliani
has
the
strongest
record
of
support
on
gay
issues
among
the
major
GOP
presidential
contenders.
Diller
gave
a
sole
contribution
of
$2,300
to
Obama,
and
Geffen
made
separate
contributions
of
$2,300
to
Obama,
Edwards
and
Dodd.
A
spokesperson
for
the
FEC
said
contributions
made
to
presidential
candidates
after
June
30
would
not
become
available
for
public
inspection
in
FEC
records
until
Oct.
15,
when
the
election
regulatory
agency
releases
its
next
batch
of
campaign
finance
data.
These
prominent
gay
rights
leaders
and
gay
business
or
entertainment
figures
have
made
campaign
contributions
to
the
candidates
indicated
below
as
of
June
30,
2007,
the
latest
date
for
which
the
Federal
Election
Commission
has
released
campaign
finance
data.
All
information
obtained
from
FEC
records.
