Oil Money: John McCain's Close Ties to The Petroleum Industry

UPDATE: NEW REPORT RELEASED

On July 31, 2008, Campaign Money Watch released It's A Gusher: As John McCain Fights For Big Oil, They Open Their Wallets, a new report that features an in-depth analysis of how John McCain's campaign received an influx of Big Oil dollars after his June 16 reversal on offshore oil drilling. Download the PDF



A FACTSHEET FROM CAMPAIGN MONEY WATCH
Last Updated September 16, 2008


With oil prices skyrocketing and the economy on the brink of a recession, Americans are looking for candidates up and down the ballot to introduce meaningful plans to provide relief at the pump and put the economy back on track. Yet not all candidates have the American people’s interests foremost in mind. For those like Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) who receive large campaign contributions from the oil and gas industries, helping corporate donors is the top priority. After all, he who pays the piper calls the tune.


Since 1989, John McCain has raised more than $1 million dollars from the oil and gas industries (1)

 

  • Employees and PACs of oil and gas companies have donated $1,698,760 to John McCain’s campaigns and leadership PAC since 1989.

  • McCain has received substantial donations from executives and PACs of some of the country’s largest oil and gas companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

    Company Gave McCain
    Hess Corp. $96,300
    Exxon Mobil $59,365
    Chveron Corp. $55,151
    Moncrief Oil International $20,600
    Southwest Gas $20,250

  • McCain has received more than twice as much money from the oil and gas industries in the 2008 cycle than in all other cycles since 1989.

Forty-three McCain staffers and fundraisers have received $16.7 million in lobbying fees from at least 30 oil and gas industry corporations and associations. These lobbying clients‚ executives and PACs have donated $337,066 to McCain's campaigns.  They include:

 

  • John Green, McCain’s campaign liaison to Congress, has lobbied for Chevron, Hess, and the American Petroleum Institute, among others. This work, which took place between 2002 and 2008, earned Green and his firm $3,450,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain a total of $106,050 since 1989.

  • Wayne Berman, a leading McCain bundler, has lobbied for Chevron, Amerada Hess, and the American Petroleum Institute, among others. This work, which took place between 2004 and 2008, earned Berman and his firm $3,170,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain a total of $105,300 since 1989.

  • Steve Phillips, a leading McCain bundler, has lobbied for eight different oil and gas entities, including BP and Occidental Petroleum. This work, which took place between 2000 and 2007, earned Phillips and his firm $3,130,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $40,950 since 1989.

  • Charlie Black, a senior McCain advisor, has lobbied for Occidental Petroleum and Yukos Oil. This work, which took place between 2001 and 2007, earned Black and his firm $1,725,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $18,550 since 1989.

  • James Hyland, a McCain bundler, has lobbied for BP, the Independent Fuel Operators Association, the New England Fuel Institute, and Occidental Petroleum. This work, which took place between 2001 and 2004, earned Hyland and his firm $1,300,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $34,050 since 1989.

  • Rebecca Anderson, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for three oil and gas companies: Bass Brothers Enterprises, Cheniere Energy, and Sunoco. This work, which took place between 2002 and 2007, earned Anderson and her firm $1,280,000. Employees of her clients have given McCain a total of $15,800 since 1989.

  • Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the RNC, has lobbied for Exxon Mobil. This work, which took place between 1998 and 1999, earned Donatelli and his firm $1,120,000. Employees and PACs of his clients have given McCain $46,751 since 1989.

  • Robert Asher, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for WMPI Pty., a fuel supplier. This work, which took place between 2003 and 2005, earned Ascher and his firm $750,000.

  • Kevin Fay, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Orion Refining. This work, which took place between 1998 and 2002, earned Fay and his firm $650,000.

  • Tom Loeffler, McCain’s former national finance co-chairman, has lobbied for Tetco. This work, which took place between 2005 and 2007, earned Loeffler and his firm $620,000.

  • Richard Hohlt, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Chevron. This work, which took place between 2006 and 2008, earned Hohlt and his firm $241,500. Chevron employees and PACs have given McCain $30,000 since 1989.

  • Jack Oliver, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Shell Oil. This work, which took place between 2006 and 2007, earned Oliver and his firm $240,000. Shell employees and PACs have given McCain $7,050 since 1989.

  • Dick Zimmer, McCain New Jersey honorary co-chair, has lobbied for Schlumberger Ltd. This work, which took place between 2002 and 2005, earned Zimmer and his firm $240,000.

  • Sloan Rappoport, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Koch Industries. This work, which took place between 2005 and 2006, earned Rappoport and his firm $200,000. Employees of Koch Industries have given McCain $9,000 since 1989.

  • Kirsten Chadwick, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Atlantic Richfield. This work, which took place between 1999 and 2000, earned Chadwick and her firm $160,000. Employees and PACs of Atlantic Richfield have given McCain $13,000 since 1989.

  • Peter Madigan, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Shell Oil and Michael F. Barrett. This work, which took place between 1998 and 2002, earned Madigan and his firm $140,000. Employees of Shell Oil have given McCain $7,050 since 1989.

  • James Pitts, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition. This work, which took place in 2004, earned Pitts and his firm $140,000.

  • Eric Burgeson, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for BP. This work, which took place between 1999 and 2000, earned Burgeson and his firm $120,000. Employees and PACs of BP have given McCain $15,500 since 1989.

  • Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s defense and foreign policy coordinator, has lobbied for BP. This work, which took place between 1999 and 2000, earned Scheunemann and his firm $120,000. Employees and PACs of BP have given McCain $15,500 since 1989.

  • Jeffrey Weiss, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Yukos Oil. This work, which took place in 2004, earned Weiss and his firm $115,000.

  • Ashley Davis, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for TORP Technology. This work, which took place between 2006 and 2007, earned Davis and her firm $80,000.

  • James Courter, a bundler for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for the New England Fuel Institute. This work, which took place in 2000, earned Courter and his firm $60,000.

  • Vicki Hart, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Enron, the New England Fuel Institute, and Petroport. This work, which took place between 1998 and 2000, earned Hart and her firm at least $60,000. Employees and PACs of Enron have given McCain $11,500 since 1989.

  • Elise Finley Pickering, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Koch Industries. This work, which took place between 2007 and 2008, earned Pickering and her firm $50,000 since 1989.

  • Carlos Bonilla, an economic policy advisor to the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Oceaneering Intl. This work, which took place in 2008, earned Bonilla and his firm $40,000.

  • Kerry Cammack, a fundraiser for the McCain campaign, has lobbied for Exxon Mobil. This work, which took place in 2006, earned Cammack and his firm $40,000. Employees and PACs of Exxon Mobil have given McCain $46,751 since 1989.

  • Melissa Edwards, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has lobbied for Oceaneering Intl. This work, which took place in 2008, earned Edwards and her firm $40,000.

  • Susan Molinari, a member of the Women for McCain Steering Committee, has also lobbied for Oceaneering Intl. This work, which took place in 2008, earned Molinari and her firm $40,000.

  • Doug Davenport, a former McCain regional campaign manager, has lobbied for Welldog. This work, which took place in 2005, earned Davenport and his firm $20,000.

 



1. Campaign finance and lobbying figures are based on Campaign Money Watch analysis of data obtained from the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan organization that tracks and codes campaign finance data by industry and tracks lobbying. Campaign finance data include individual contributions ($200+) and from Political Action Committees (PACs) to campaign committees and leadership PACs. Data for the 2008 cycle were downloaded in August 2008.
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