Lenders and their operatives, mired in a depressed market, aren't putting their checkbooks away for the 2022 midterms.
Rather, mortgage bankers and brokers are making this year's Congressional races into one of their most prolific midterm contribution cycles ever. Industry professionals and political action committees have spent $7,428,827 in contributions in the 2022 midterm as of Sept. 22, according to OpenSecrets. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit is the merger of the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics.
The industry's spending so far is the fourth-largest sum in a midterm election since OpenSecret's data dating back to 1990. Presidential election cycles draw more contributions, and mortgage players threw $14.6 million into the massive 2020 election season. Their contributions, historically Republican leaning, are progressively leading to a near even split between Democrats, according to data.
Here are five takeaways from a National Mortgage News analysis of both OpenSecrets data and individual donor data from the Federal Election Commission.
Mortgage donations still lean Republican, but the gap with Dems is tightening
Contributions from donors identifying as mortgage bankers and brokers have leaned Republican since the 2010 election cycle, but the gap between dollars for Republicans and Democrats has closed in recent years.
Of the just over $7 million in total contributions by the group through Sept. 22, industry donors and lender political action committees contributed $3,238,174, or 45% to Democrats compared to $3,921,865, or 55% to Republicans. The amount includes monies to individual candidates, leadership PACs, party committees and other outside groups. In 2020, when total contributions were nearly double the amount this cycle, the split was even tighter, with 47% of contributions for Democrats and 53% for Republicans.
Mortgage banker and broker contributions to Dems only slightly exceeded GOP dollars in 2008, when President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats cruised to victory. Since that period, industry support for Republicans roared back, topping out at 72% of contributions during the 2012 race. Since then, the share of dollars for Republicans has been on a steady decline. The same has been true regarding support coming from the industry's two leading sources of contributions.
Emily Elconin/Bloomberg
Two mortgage stalwarts still dominate contributions
The combined affiliates of megalender Rocket Mortgage's parent company remains the industry's biggest contributors, with individuals and the Rock Holdings PAC giving a combined $3,178,304 this cycle as of Sept. 22. Rock Holdings has dominated mortgage banker and broker spending since 2014, when it first overcame the Mortgage Bankers Association's hold on the top spot. It also sat just outside of OpenSecret's top100 contributors, ranking 108th of the tracker's 27,673 companies ranked.
The Rock Holdings PAC this election cycle has given $1,785,670 to candidates, party committees, leadership PACs and outside groups, according to OpenSecrets. Among the PAC's contributions, 52% of money has gone to Democrats, the largest share among any of the PAC's contributions in any election cycle.
In all, 47% of dollars from the Rock Holdings PAC and Rock Holdings employees combined has gone to Democrats, also the largest share in the entity's history. Its spending in the 2022 race is third-highest on record, behind its contribution totals during the 2016 and 2020 presidential election years.
The Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee, or MORPAC, remains the field's biggest PAC, giving $2,686,250 to a near-even split of Democrats and Republicans this election cycle as of Sept. 22. The $1,234,001, or 49.94% of contributions for Democrats is the highest share of support for the party by MORPAC since 2008.
MORPAC this cycle has also spent a record $1.5 million on 26 lobbyists, according to OpenSecrets. The Federal Home Loan Banks spent the second-most among mortgage bankers on brokers on lobbying, followed by the Housing Policy Council trade association, which made no political contributions in the past two years. Veterans Affairs lender NewDay USA also spent $300K on lobbying between 2021 and 2022.
PACs from non-lender mortgage players spend big
The committees of over a dozen depositories have contributed $100K or more this election season, while consumer credit reporting agency PACs Experian and TransUnion have spent more than $500K combined.
The American Land Title Association Title Industry PAC, or TIPAC, is one of the largest in the mortgage landscape, giving $585K in a near equal split to Democrats and Republican candidates, according to OpenSecrets. TIPAC's fundraising has come from a plethora of title industry players, and its contributions have tilted toward Democrats for the first time since 1994.
First American Financial Corp.'s PAC has given $209,139 this election season, skewed toward Republican candidates who received $69K of their contributions. The Appraisal Institute PAC has also contributed $120,500 to candidates in the past two years, with an edge to Democrats receiving $67K of the funds. Other PACs from prominent mortgage players MGIC and UWM have given $64K and $65K this cycle, respectively, and both lean Republican.
Top recipients include the loudest real estate voices in Congress
Eight of the top 10 recipients of mortgage banker and broker contributions are members of either the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs or the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is the top recipient, with $145,198 from the industry this cycle as of Sept. 22, followed by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina and prospective presidential candidate.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Republican from Michigan and former Realtor, is the candidate with the third-most mortgage banker and broker dollars this cycle. Huizenga, while not a household name, has been a quiet ally on Republican-led calls on the House Committee on Financial Services.
He signed onto a July letter by House Republicans urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to bolster its oversight of government sponsored entities, along with others on the top recipient list. Other lawmakers in the top 20 recipients of mortgage dollars include U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, and U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, the House Committee's top Republican. McHenry in June led a call on FHFA Director Sandra Thompson to testify in an oversight hearing before the Committee.
Other top recipients of mortgage banker and broker dollars include U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat from Arizona whose break from party ranks in key votes has drawn ire. U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Missouri and the sixth-leading mortgage dollar recipient, was one of 147 lawmakers who voted to overturn 2020 presidential election results.
The industry’s biggest individual contributors overwhelmingly lean Republican
Jeffrey Eisenshtadt, CEO of AmRock Holdings, is the largest political contributor among non-bank mortgage entities, according to OpenSecrets data as of February 2022. The leader of the title and settlement arm of Rock Holdings gave $159,300 to Republicans and $40,800 to Democrats.
His colleagues at the Rock Holdings family of companies round out mortgage bankers and broker's biggest donors. Matthew Rizik, the chief tax officer at Rock Ventures, gave a combined $144,400 to politicians this cycle, with a slight edge ($68,100) to Republicans. Rock Holdings Vice Chairman BIll Emerson and Rocket Mortgage CEO Bob Walters both gave $127,900 to politicians; whereas Emerson gave $101,100 to Republican races, Walters gave $115K to Democrats.
Correction
An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the Housing Policy Council's lobbying expenditures as political contributions. The HPC made no political contributions in 2021 or 2022. An earlier version of this story included a graphic which incorrectly identified the political party of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California. The story has been updated.
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