Heavy Hitters: Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2014

This list includes the organizations that have historically qualified as "heavy hitters" — groups that lobby and spend big, with large sums sent to candidates, parties and leadership PACs. Individuals and organizations have been able to make extremely large donations to outside spending groups in the last few years. While contributions to outside groups like super PACs do not factor into an organization's designation as a "heavy hitter" (a listing of about 150 groups), those numbers are included for the roster below.

For example, this list does not include casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. He and his wife Miriam donated nearly $93 million in 2012 alone to conservative super PACs — enough to put him at No. 2 on this list. Similarly, the list excludes former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has donated more than $19 million in the past two years, largely to groups that support gun control. Neither Adelson nor Bloomberg — or the organizations they report as their employers — qualifies as a "heavy hitter" under our current definition. It's also important to note that we aren't including donations to politically active dark money groups, like Americans for Prosperity, a group linked to the Koch brothers, or the liberal group Patriot Majority — because these groups hide their donors; see a list of top donors that we've been able to identify to such groups. We are working to revise this list to take into account the new realities of campaign finance created by the Citizens United decision, but as it currently stands, there are significant omissions.

It is also worth noting that certain organizations, such as ActBlue and Club for Growth, are included although they function for the most part as pass-through entities: individual donors give to them with the contributions earmarked for specific candidates.

LEGEND:   Republican    Democrat    On the fence
	= Between 40% and 59% to both parties = Leans Dem/Repub (60%-69%) = Strongly Dem/Repub (70%-89%) = Solidly Dem/Repub (over 90%)

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% as money can be given to third party
candidates or outside spending groups and PACs not affiliated with either party.

Rank	Organization	Total '89-'14	Dem %	Repub %	Tilt
1	ActBlue	$102,669,137	99%	0%
2	American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees	$61,819,929	80%	1%
3	National Education Assn	$58,988,290	56%	4%
4	AT&T Inc	$57,026,335	41%	57%
5	National Assn of Realtors	$55,559,528	41%	44%
6	Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$45,572,151	91%	2%
7	Goldman Sachs	$45,270,985	53%	44%
8	United Auto Workers	$41,923,428	71%	0%
9	Carpenters & Joiners Union	$41,577,299	71%	9%
10	Service Employees International Union	$38,711,298	84%	2%
11	Laborers Union	$38,401,420	83%	7%
12	American Federation of Teachers	$37,271,825	89%	0%
13	Communications Workers of America	$36,472,773	86%	0%
14	Teamsters Union	$36,355,957	88%	5%
15	JPMorgan Chase & Co	$35,122,566	47%	51%
16	United Food & Commercial Workers Union	$34,172,703	86%	0%
17	United Parcel Service	$32,687,492	35%	64%
18	Citigroup Inc	$32,519,262	48%	50%
19	National Auto Dealers Assn	$32,267,410	31%	68%
20	EMILY's List	$31,892,295	98%	0%
21	American Bankers Assn	$31,629,002	36%	63%
22	AFL-CIO	$31,597,075	60%	3%
23	Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union	$31,407,747	98%	1%
24	American Medical Assn	$30,175,387	40%	59%
25	Microsoft Corp	$29,718,801	55%	43%
26	Blue Cross/Blue Shield	$29,598,024	36%	63%
27	National Beer Wholesalers Assn	$29,457,760	35%	64%
28	General Electric	$28,600,823	47%	52%
29	National Assn of Home Builders	$27,891,848	34%	65%
30	Lockheed Martin	$27,655,369	42%	57%
31	Bank of America	$27,265,950	41%	57%
32	Morgan Stanley	$26,375,897	42%	56%
33	National Assn of Letter Carriers	$26,362,109	84%	9%
34	Verizon Communications	$26,025,007	40%	58%
35	Deloitte LLP	$25,451,447	36%	63%
36	Plumbers & Pipefitters Union	$24,684,398	83%	4%
37	Credit Union National Assn	$24,555,655	47%	51%
38	Newsweb Corp	$24,546,871	40%	0%
39	Operating Engineers Union	$23,705,723	82%	14%
40	Ernst & Young	$23,596,351	42%	57%
41	International Assn of Fire Fighters	$23,304,560	79%	16%
42	American Hospital Assn	$23,203,351	52%	46%
43	Time Warner	$23,063,677	73%	25%
44	PricewaterhouseCoopers	$22,770,631	35%	64%
45	Sheet Metal Workers Union	$22,676,178	95%	2%
46	Boeing Co	$22,112,183	46%	52%
47	American Dental Assn	$22,102,908	43%	54%
48	UBS AG	$21,765,986	40%	58%
49	Altria Group	$21,548,432	29%	69%
50	Comcast Corp	$21,017,234	56%	43%
51	Northrop Grumman	$20,330,101	42%	57%
52	Honeywell International	$20,214,400	44%	54%
53	AFLAC Inc	$20,151,059	43%	56%
54	Pfizer Inc	$20,126,269	35%	64%
55	Air Line Pilots Assn	$19,923,047	82%	17%
56	National Rifle Assn	$19,894,153	17%	82%
57	Union Pacific Corp	$19,830,643	27%	72%
58	Natl Assn/Insurance & Financial Advisors	$19,592,624	41%	58%
59	Koch Industries	$18,446,823	8%	91%
60	American Assn for Justice	$18,337,858	80%	3%
61	American Postal Workers Union	$18,033,408	86%	2%
62	Club for Growth	$17,767,232	0%	95%
63	Raytheon Co	$17,628,034	43%	55%
64	Ironworkers Union	$17,626,840	92%	6%
65	United Steelworkers	$17,450,830	94%	0%
66	Credit Suisse Group	$17,411,840	41%	57%
67	United Transportation Union	$17,320,750	87%	11%
68	New York Life Insurance	$17,279,357	49%	50%
69	National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn	$16,926,890	47%	52%
70	FedEx Corp	$16,904,627	39%	59%
71	General Dynamics	$16,852,677	46%	53%
72	Akin, Gump et al	$16,714,100	62%	37%
73	American Institute of CPAs	$16,221,545	41%	58%
74	National Air Traffic Controllers Assn	$16,216,800	77%	20%
75	Chevron	$15,930,380	19%	64%
76	National Cable & Telecommunications Assn	$15,758,510	47%	52%
77	Anheuser-Busch	$15,757,263	48%	51%
78	Reynolds American	$15,617,048	22%	77%
79	Exxon Mobil	$15,306,377	13%	85%
80	Wal-Mart Stores	$15,234,332	32%	67%
81	KPMG LLP	$15,200,903	34%	65%
82	DLA Piper	$15,053,278	68%	31%
83	Merrill Lynch	$14,881,817	37%	62%
84	GlaxoSmithKline	$14,692,693	30%	69%
85	CSX Corp	$14,613,830	34%	65%
86	News Corp	$14,258,063	58%	41%
87	Walt Disney Co	$14,253,507	68%	30%
88	Wells Fargo	$14,040,360	36%	62%
89	American Financial Group	$14,004,235	15%	73%
90	Indep Insurance Agents & Brokers/America	$13,961,400	34%	64%
91	American Health Care Assn	$13,900,328	51%	48%
92	Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance	$13,868,204	39%	60%
93	University of California	$13,813,509	89%	9%
94	American Crystal Sugar	$13,765,209	61%	38%
95	Associated Builders & Contractors	$13,710,832	1%	98%
96	Prudential Financial	$13,528,813	48%	50%
97	American Society of Anesthesiologists	$13,497,537	41%	58%
98	WPP Group	$13,416,734	53%	45%
99	Southern Co	$13,308,489	28%	70%
100	National Restaurant Assn	$12,785,391	16%	82%
101	Securities Industry & Financial Mkt Assn	$12,599,598	40%	59%
102	Human Rights Campaign	$12,348,409	89%	8%
103	American Optometric Assn	$12,240,683	57%	42%
104	MetLife Inc	$12,236,761	51%	47%
105	Home Depot	$12,178,415	25%	74%
106	American Academy of Ophthalmology	$12,021,708	50%	49%
107	United Technologies	$11,903,194	46%	52%
108	Natl Active & Retired Fed Employees Assn	$11,833,700	78%	21%
109	Eli Lilly & Co	$11,770,205	31%	67%
110	Saban Capital Group	$11,733,772	89%	0%
111	General Motors	$11,498,739	39%	60%
112	National Assn of Broadcasters	$11,420,039	44%	55%
113	Associated General Contractors	$11,335,397	14%	85%
114	Painters & Allied Trades Union	$11,327,480	85%	12%
115	American Maritime Officers	$11,161,331	46%	53%
116	Ford Motor Co	$10,948,747	39%	60%
117	UST Inc	$10,932,393	22%	77%
118	Exelon Corp	$10,822,095	42%	56%
119	Skadden, Arps et al	$10,806,209	77%	22%
120	Independent Community Bankers of America	$10,709,335	42%	57%
121	Seafarers International Union	$10,566,343	83%	16%
122	AIG	$10,549,205	49%	50%
123	Amway/Alticor Inc	$10,511,613	0%	96%
124	National Cmte to Preserve Social Security & Medicare	$10,428,606	82%	17%
125	Freddie Mac	$10,298,609	43%	56%
126	MBNA Corp	$10,280,913	16%	83%
127	Patton Boggs LLP	$10,228,956	72%	27%
128	American Airlines	$10,197,706	43%	56%
129	Blackstone Group	$10,049,253	45%	51%
130	American Trucking Assns	$10,041,068	27%	72%
131	American Physical Therapy Assn	$9,991,483	49%	50%
132	BellSouth Corp	$9,804,479	43%	56%
133	National Fedn of Independent Business	$9,725,684	6%	93%
134	Lehman Brothers	$9,725,364	52%	46%
135	Greenberg Traurig LLP	$9,616,536	62%	37%
136	Amalgamated Transit Union	$9,608,718	93%	6%
137	Harvard University	$9,574,356	87%	12%
138	American Council of Life Insurers	$9,567,128	38%	61%
139	Transport Workers Union	$9,560,399	95%	4%
140	MGM Resorts International	$9,554,692	44%	50%
141	Archer Daniels Midland	$9,451,317	42%	57%
142	Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn	$9,342,513	43%	56%
143	Fannie Mae	$9,141,977	53%	46%
144	National Rural Letter Carriers Assn	$9,032,100	71%	28%
145	Wachovia Corp	$8,572,244	30%	69%
146	National Cmte for an Effective Congress	$8,447,690	99%	0%
147	Interpublic Group	$8,330,017	65%	33%
148	Marine Engineers Beneficial Assn	$8,190,179	73%	25%
149	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$7,971,249	23%	76%
150	MCI Inc	$7,659,436	45%	54%
151	Bear Stearns	$7,287,973	55%	43%
152	BP	$6,952,952	30%	69%
153	Enron Corp	$6,546,528	28%	71%
154	Andersen	$6,267,620	37%	62%
155	Vivendi	$5,999,018	61%	32%
156	Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp	$5,542,281	36%	62%

Based on data released by the FEC on April 20, 2014.