Hedge Fund Donors Shift to Republicans

Hedge fund managers have shifted their political donations from Democrats to Republicans because of what they believe is mistreatment from President Barack Obama and his administration’s effort to increase regulation of their industry, The Wall Street Journal reports.

From 1990 through 2008, hedge fund employees donated about $40 million to candidates for Congress and the presidency, with about two-thirds going to Democrats, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

But in last year’s election campaign, 53 percent, or $11 million, of the contributions went to the GOP. Republican strategists say a few fund managers really helped make a difference in the party’s smashing victory.

"Hedge funds bankrolled the Democrats in the 2006 and 2008 elections, and the very people they helped put in power turned around and screwed them," Sam Geduldig, a Wall Street lobbyist, told the Journal.