All of the top five donors to Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet's campaign this election cycle hail from Wall Street or the financial sector.
Despite his support for Wall Street reform, Bennet continues to rake in big donations from the financial industry. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are among the top contributors to his campaign and his super PAC, Common Sense Colorado.
Bennet’s top contributor is the Los Angeles-based global asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management, which gave $75,400, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which compiles data from the Federal Election Commission.
Rounding out Bennet’s top five donors are Pershing Square Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund, with $73,000; Citigroup, which contributed $64,050; Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, with $58,100; and Goldman Sachs, which gave $50,600.
Overall, Bennet received $1,002,800 from securities and investment groups between 2011 and 2015. Other top industries contributing to the Democrat’s campaign include lawyers ($745,377), and lobbyists ($243,656).
Bennet, a multi-millionaire who worked for billionaire Philip Anschutz’s investment company before his career in politics, has a history of accepting large donations from Wall Street. In less than six months in 2009, he raked in more than $400,000 from hedge funds, securities firms, insurance companies, and real estate interests, according to the Denver Post.
The trend has continued this election cycle, with JP Morgan Chase ($37,500),
Morgan Stanley ($25,000), the private equity firms the Carlyle Group ($25,400) and Apollo Global Management ($21,800) all in Bennet’s top 20 contributors.
Bennet said he has stood "on the side of Colorado taxpayers and consumers on Main Street" by supporting the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law in 2010.
"Tonight, Main Street got a win over Wall Street," Bennet said after the reform passed. "The common-sense bill we passed will end taxpayer-funded bailouts, bring more transparency and accountability to Wall Street, and protect and empower Colorado consumers."
Bennet has served in the Senate since 2009, when he was appointed by President Obama to fill the vacancy left by Ken Salazar, who was tapped to be Interior Secretary.
Bennet easily won reelection in 2010, but may be facing an uphill battle in 2016, a year defined by political outsiders. A November poll found that only 30 percent of Coloradans think Bennet should keep his job in the Senate.
The success of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, financed largely by contributions from small donors, has rested on his populist, anti-Wall Street message.
The Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has tried to distance herself from her ties to Wall Street, but continues to face criticism for not releasing the transcripts of the six-figure paid speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs.
Bennet’s office did not respond to request for comment on how donations from Wall Street might affect his standing in the eyes of voters, or whether he aligns more with Sanders’ or Clinton’s views on Wall Street.
Overall, Bennet received $7,034,262 in total contributions between January and December 2015, according to the Federal Election Commission.
He received big contributions from the nation’s presidents and CEOs, totaling $611,204 since January 2015. HBO CEO Richard Plepler and Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix, both gave the maximum contribution of $2,700.
Hollywood has also donated to Bennet. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks, and his wife Marilyn each gave $2,700, as did Steven Spielberg. Alan Horn, the chairman of Disney, gave $2,700.
Bennet also received $40,175 from professors in academia and a $1,000 donation from a yoga instructor.