Who is the Wake Forest community donating to this election?
No one has contributed to Trump
Often frustrated by the lack of progress and policymaking in the government, citizens do what they can to rally support for the presidential candidate they believe will make a true difference in Washington. Volunteering for campaigns and voting are both effective ways to practice civic duties, but for Professor James Hans, he feels he can make a difference through grassroots donations.
“In all cases, I donate for a chance at hope,” he says.
Professors are often very vocal about their political views, candidly sharing them in class and criticizing the ones whom they do not support. At Wake Forest, this support is also seen through campaign donations to Presidential candidates.
The Federal Election Commission website publishes how much Wake Forest faculty members have contributed to political campaigns over the last few years, so we took a look to see which way our faculty is leaning.
The three candidates that received monetary donations from professors on campus were Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson – although Mr. Carson recently terminated his run for office.
Many donations were made to Political Action Committees that support other candidates.
Hillary Clinton received $1,500 from two individual donors, Joanne Beam and Mary Tribble. Two other donors from the Wake Forest University Health Sciences Center donated $2,700 and $250, respectively, through a Joint Fundraising Contribution.
Ted Cruz, the current Republican candidate in second place behind Donald Trump, received multiple individual contributions totaling over $10,000. A student at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, personally donated $10,500 in March of 2015.
An ENT at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, donated varying amounts to Ben Carson throughout 2015, to total $3,500.
The main flaw with the FEC website listing the campaign donations, is that no contributions under $200 are reported. Therefore, it is very likely that other professors have donated smaller sums that are not listed. Though for most donors, any sum of money makes a difference during the election season.
“Even if I do not fully support the candidate, I donate to the one that is the least evil,” says Professor Hans. “The one that will support my views and not just work for Wall Street.”