10 Senate Candidates with the Most Mortgage Backing
October 21, 2016 6:00 AM
From the future of Dodd-Frank to GSE reform, the next Congress will make major decisions that will shape the mortgage industry's future. Here's a look at the Senate candidates who have received the most money in political donations from the mortgage industry, based on data from the Center for Responsive Politics and its website, OpenSecrets.org, through Oct. 18.
No. 10: Joe Heck, R-Nev.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $22,000 Total Contributions Overall: $7,441,270 Rep. Heck currently represents Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Henderson, Boulder City and parts of Las Vegas. He is running against former Nevada State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Harry Reid.
No. 9: Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $22,500 Total Contributions Overall: $9,110,770 Sen. Isakson is the only Republican in the Senate chairing two committees the Senate Ethics Committee and the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Senate HELP Committee, Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
No. 8: Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $24,400 Total Contributions Overall: $22,852,599 Sen. Toomey serves on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Committee on the Budget; the Committee on Finance; and the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. He sponsored the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Examination and Reporting Threshold Act of 2015, which would raise the examination threshold for depositories from $10 billion in assets to $50 billion in assets.
No. 7: Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $26,800 Total Contributions Overall: $12,620,002 Sen. Blunt serves as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. He also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
No. 6: Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $26,905 Total Contributions Overall: $23,795,775 Sen. Schumer sits on the Senate Banking Committee. Though only a small share of his donations come from the mortgage industry, he is well-funded by the wider real estate sector and the securities and investment sector, raking in roughly $4.8 million from them together.
No. 5: Patrick Murphy, D-Fla.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $28,330 Total Contributions Overall: $11,248,372 Rep. Murphy currently represents Florida's 18th Congressional district, which includes northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence. He is running against Sen. Rubio.
No. 4: Mike Crapo, R-Idaho
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $29,800 Total Contributions Overall: $4,985,212 Sen. Crapo serves as the second most senior Republican on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He serves on three banking subcommittees Securities, Insurance and Investment; Housing, Transportation and Community Development; and Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection.
No. 3: Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $37,450 Total Contributions Overall: $4,604,640 Sen. Shelby is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He also serves on the following banking subcommittees as an ex-officio, non-voting member Securities, Insurance, and Investment; Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection; Housing, Transportation, and Community Development; Economic Policy; and National Security and International Trade and Finance.
No. 2: Ted Cruz, R-Texas
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $49,314 Total Contributions Overall: $107,522,819 Like Sen. Rubio, Sen. Cruz made a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. An outspoken opponent of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Cruz introduced a bill in July 2015 that would abolish the agency. He also sits on the Joint Economic Committee.
No. 1: Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Total Contributions from Mortgage Industry: $119,723 Total Contributions Overall: $14,191,861 Sen. Rubio also received $101,470 in contributions from the mortgage industry for his unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He gained attention during that campaign for having gone into foreclosure on a property he bought in Tallahassee while a representative in Florida's state house.
