By Matthew Hall
Donations from mining sector interests in the US overwhelmingly fund Republican candidates and interests. From the 2012 election cycle onwards, at least 90% of the mining industry’s political donations have gone to the GOP. In the 2016 cycle, not a single Democrat broke the top 20 recipients of mining industry funding.
The 2016 election saw the mining industry’s second-highest contribution total, at almost $17.5m, trailing behind 2012’s total of $23m. President Trump’s 2016 candidacy took less than $361,000 from mining interests, compared with almost $1.5m taken by Mitt Romney four years prior. As the election cycle ramps up over the summer, we’ll see whether Trump’s friendliness to the coal industry pays dividends for his re-election war chest.
Here, Mining Technology takes a look at the lobbying and funding going into US politics, and the top donors to US election campaigns.