Report: Democrats receive more private-equity cash than GOP

Mitt Romney is taking fire from all sides for his tenure at private-equity firm Bain Capital, but congressional Democrats actually took more money from that industry than Republicans in the last several years.

As GOP rivals seek to knock Romney from his GOP front-runner perch, Democrats have joined in criticizing the former Massachusetts governor for his time heading the financial firm, which bought struggling companies and reworked them. Romney critics argue he got rich by laying off employees at those companies.

But new analysis reveals that Democrats have received substantially more money from the industry that includes Bain than their Republican counterparts. The Maplight Foundation, a nonpartisan watchdog group, reported Tuesday that Democrats reaped $10.9 million from political action committees and individuals tied to the private-equity industry from the beginning of 2007 through June 30, 2011. By comparison, Republicans took in just $6.5 million.

In a separate analysis of contributions from the last decade, eight of the top 10 lawmakers receiving private-equity funds were Democrats, according to the data. Over the time analyzed, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama took in the largest amount, boosted in large part by the more than $1 million in private-equity contributions made in 2008 as he took on a presidential run. In 2011, Obama received $141,501 in contributions from private-equity sources as president.

His 2008 GOP opponent for the White House, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), came in second, receiving an election-year windfall of $839,525 from organizations and people tied to the industry.

Of the remaining top 10, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) was the only other Republican to receive large amounts of private-equity cash.

Given New York's status as home of the nation's financial center, the Democratic delegation of the state is represented well on the list. Former Sen. Hillary Clinton came in third, followed by Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Other influential Democrats also received substantial donations from the industry, including Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), former Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.).

Reid's Republican counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), comes in at number 11.

The analysis comes as Democrats have joined competing GOP candidates in bashing Romney for his time at Bain. Seeking to take advantage of Romney saying on Monday that he "likes being able to fire people" in the context of remarks on healthcare coverage, the Democratic National Committee hosted a press call Monday with a former employee of a company taken over by Bain.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) accused Romney of "creating wealth on the backs of American workers by laying them off and shipping their jobs overseas." She received $21,000 from PACs or individuals tied to private equity over that same timeframe, good for 194th on the list, according to Maplight.

The pressure on Romney has driven the private-equity industry into the political fight. The Private Equity Growth Capital Council issued a statement Monday accusing both parties of spreading "misinformation" about the industry and argued that private equity firms play a key role in the economy — and that their takeovers of companies can "often" lead to growth and job creation, not layoffs.

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