Officers and directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., have given the most money in this presidential race to a former member of the company’s board — Hillary Clinton.
Clinton — who served on the Wal-Mart board of director from 1986 to 1992 while she was first lady of Arkansas — has received $12,200 so far from executives of the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail chain, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Rudy Giuliani received $7,150 from that group before he dropped out of the race, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s campaign has gotten $7,050.
The executives have also contributed $3,300 to Barack Obama, but as of Jan. 31 no director or officer had donated to John McCain’s campaign, the Arkansas News Bureau reported.
The total given to presidential candidates in this race, at least $33,700, is more than the firm’s officers and directors gave in the 2000 and 2004 election cycles combined.
Accepting donations from Wal-Mart executives is something of a turn-around for Hillary. In February 2006, she rejected $5,000 that Wal-Mart had donated to her Senate campaign through its Political Action Committee because of “serious differences with current company practices,” a Clinton spokesperson said at the time.
Labor groups have frequently criticized the corporate giant for its treatment of workers and business practices.
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