With the Nov. 5 election just weeks away—and control of the White House and both houses of Congress on the line—construction industry groups, businesses and unions are contributing tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to the coffers. of their favorite candidates.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets database, the construction industry had contributed $122.5 million this election cycle, as of Sept. 22. The cycle extends for months beyond Election Day.
It’s unclear whether by the end of the cycle the industry will surpass the $210.9 million it reached in the last presidential election cycle in 2020. But some construction groups have already surpassed their 2020 totals.
Contributions from the construction industry have long tended to flow to Republicans, while construction unions have heavily favored Democrats.
Of the $793 million contributed by members of the construction industry since the 1990 cycle, two-thirds have gone to the GOP and one-third to Democrats.
This pattern continues this cycle, as 66.7% have gone to the Republicans and 32.4% to the Democrats.
The center, a not-for-profit organization, includes in its construction industry category general contractors, home builders, specialty trade contractors (such as electricians and plumbers), building services, and construction material and equipment companies .
Monitoring of the AGC PAC
The Associated General Contractors of America (PAC) political action committee, as of Oct. 17, had contributed more than $1.2 million to federal candidates and committees, Brian Turmail said. Vice President of Public Affairs and Strategic Initiatives of AGC. That’s up from $978,000 in the 2020 cycle.
Turmail also notes that due to regulations, PACs like AGC’s “cannot solicit funds publicly.”
He says that’s why trade association corporate member PACs like AGC’s “are very limited in content” and online donation forms have various kinds of protections.
Turmail says these regulations are “why you won’t see much, if any, content on social media from these types of PACs.”
ABC’s Contributions Top 2020 Level
Over the years, Associated Builders and Contractors has devoted all or nearly all of its campaign contributions to Republicans. This cycle is no exception. ABC has contributed a total of about $1.4 million, of which all but about $5,000 has gone to Republicans.
In total, ABC plans to raise $2.5 million and spend $2.2 million by the end of the 2024 cycle, Kristen Swearingen, ABC’s vice president of legislative and policy affairs, said in a statement. That compares to about $1.3 million in the 2020 cycle. ABC ranks 9th on the Open Secrets construction list.
Swearingen adds that in addition to monetary contributions, ABC’s Free Enterprise Alliance has initiated advocacy efforts on the issues as well as “vote campaigns to support fair and open competition.”
ACEC’s Bipartisan Approach
Another major engineering/construction organization, the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), has taken an unusual approach in recent years to its campaign contributions.
Where construction groups generally support the GOP, ACEC ranks third on the Open Secrets list while essentially splitting its political donations between Democrats and Republicans.
Steve Hall, ACEC’s executive vice president, said in an interview that the bipartisan approach dates back to 2002, when ACEC leaders said, “We have to strike a balance. We need to be more bipartisan.”
That approach has continued and expanded since then, he says: “We adapt to the times and adapt to political reality.”
Hall notes that many of the organization’s members have previously served in state government, where local ACEC chapters work with elected officials across party lines. “Our local chapters have very good relationships and so we want to maintain those relationships.”
Hall adds, “It’s smart business to work with both sides.”
ACEC’s contributions in this cycle so far have exceeded $3 million, Hall says. He adds that ACEC may reach $3.4 million or $3.5 million by the end of the cycle.
Construction Trades Inclined left
According to OpenSecrets data, union-building donations are heavily skewed toward liberal groups and Democratic candidates, as in previous election cycles. Unions of carpenters, laborers, operating engineers, electricians, plumbers and pipefitters, sheet metal workers, painters, masons and hardware workers supported Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“From the local level to the national level, LIUNA supports candidates who will fight to help improve the lives of our members,” said Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers International Union of North America , in a statement to ENR.
Booker pointed to workers’ right to join unions, Davis-Bacon prevailing wages, project labor agreements and infrastructure investment as key issues supported by the union.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America is the top donor among construction unions this year, with most of the $29.3 million it has contributed going to liberal groups, along with about $1.9 million from dollars for Democrats and $262,000 for Republicans, OpenSecrets data show.
The Carpenters were also the top donor among construction unions during the 2022 and 2020 midterm presidential cycles, though their spending so far this year is down from the $37 million they contributed in the two previous elections. Still, the total amount donated by construction trades continued to trend upward this year as it has since 2006, according to OpenSecrets.
LIUNA was the second largest political donor among construction unions.
“Our political action resources come primarily from voluntary and earned contributions by members, so who we support reflects that,” Booker said. “This cycle, our investment has grown, as has our massive member-to-member mobilization effort, particularly in battleground states, working to complement our seven-figure digital ad reach.”
The International Union of Operating Engineers saw the biggest increase in its donations compared to 2020, from $5.8 million to $10.8 million, according to OpenSecrets. The union supported liberal groups the most, giving them more than $8.2 million, along with $2.1 million to Democrats and $511,000 to Republicans.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, which includes operating engineers and other construction unions among its affiliates, said on a call with reporters on Oct. 18 that union leaders have been working to reach the members and other voters, especially in swing states. . Those efforts have focused on issues such as the Project 2025 policy proposals released by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which include provisions that would weaken unions and workers’ rights if implemented, and Trump’s conflicting statements about paying overtime, which have included it saying it would eliminate the tax. about overtime, but also that he “used to hate paying overtime” as a business owner and that he would “go out and get other people and let them work regular hours.”
“This is not just an attack on an issue,” Shuler said of Trump’s overtime comments. “This is an attack on our members, their families, their livelihoods. They’re taking it personally. And so we’re making this video [of Trump] as a digital and streaming ad to an audience of 1.7 million voters in the state of union change.”
