Political donations from servicemembers and others connected with the military are shifting from presidential candidate Ron Paul to President Obama, according to analysis released this week.
Paul, the Texas Republican congressman, long was the favorite among military givers, but donors' focus shifted to Obama in March, according to federal elections data analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics.
"Until recently, the military has been a stalwart source of support for Republican hopeful Ron Paul," wrote analyst Russ Choma. "But in March, it was Obama that scooped up the most support from the armed forces -- about twice as much as Paul, in fact. Romney remains an also-ran when it comes to backing from the military."
From January 2011 until March, servicemembers who gave more than $200 contributed about $333,134 to Paul's campaign, as compared to about $184,505 for Obama and just $45,738 to Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, according to an analysis by the center.
"But in March, Obama and Paul switched places," Choma wrote. "Members of the military sent $36,448 to Obama and just $17,733 to Paul. Even though Romney solidified his position as the presumptive Republican nominee, military donations to his campaign remained anemic -- only $8,630."
The numbers reflect individual donations of more than $200 givers don't have to provide as much information with smaller ones and only those in which givers volunteered their connections with the military services. (An Army nurse who listed "nurse," as opposed to "soldier," with a contribution, for example, wouldn't be counted with the Army donors.) So there is no way to track the precise amounts and breakdowns for the armed forces.
Of records that do include such details, Obama's best source of donations was the Department of Defense; Romney's was the Army and so was Paul's. The center did not include contributions to other candidates as part of its analysis this week.
If Obama's fundraising edge among troops continues to build, it would be a repeat of his performance in 2008 when for a time troops were giving to Obama as much as six to one over his Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain.
That was a shift, however, in the historical alignment of the force, according to the center's analysis. In earlier cycles, military donors tended to give more to Republicans. In 2000, then Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican outraised Democratic Vice President Al Gore almost 2 to 1 among military donors.
Campaign contributions give a rare look into the political views of the armed services, in which many members refrain from talking openly about which candidates they support and why. Although servicemembers retain their first amendment rights to free speech, they're mostly forbidden from speaking out politically while in uniform.
