WASHINGTON - Bankers and banking trade groups are opting for the familiar over the relatively unknown in the Florida race for the U.S. Senate.
Republican Mel Martinez, who resigned as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last year to run for office, had received more than $100,000 from bankers and bank-related political action committees as of Thursday. His Democratic opponent, Betty Castor, had received less than half that amount.
That ratio holds true for the wider financial services industry, including insurance companies and real estate agents, according to the Federal Election Commission and the Center for Responsive Politics. Mr. Martinez has received about $640,000; Ms. Castor, about $315,000.
Mr. Martinez and Ms. Castor are vying for the seat held by Sen. Robert Graham, D-Fla., who chose not to seek a fourth term. Polls indicated that the race is extremely close - a survey completed earlier this week by Quinnipiac University gave Mr. Martinez a slight edge. As one of about 10 competitive Senate races around the country, it has received national attention. Republicans hope to pick up the Democratic seat and expand their 51-to-49 majority, while the Democrats have to hold on to it to have any chance of recapturing the Senate.
Despite the big disparity in banking contributions, an official with an industry-related group that donated to Mr. Martinez' campaign said bankers hold no grudge against Ms. Castor, a former teacher and university president who was also Florida's education commissioner. It is just that they know Mr. Martinez - he was President George W. Bush's first HUD secretary and dealt with a host of lending issues in that post - and are confident they could establish a good rapport with him.
"You tend to support the people you know you can work with," said the official, who asked not to be identified by name.
Lisa McGreevy, executive vice president at the Financial Services Roundtable, which donated $5,000 to the Martinez campaign, said his "deep background in housing issues makes him an attractive candidate."
Mr. Martinez has highlighted his service at HUD and talked generally about increasing homeownership rates, but neither candidate has said much about specific financial services issues.
Ms. Castor's economic plan revolves around providing tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States and penalizing those that outsource them.
The candidates have clashed fiercely over taxes, abortion, the war in Iraq, and a proposed $1 increase in the state's minimum wage.
Mr. Martinez has served on the boards of two community banks, but most of his support from bankers can be attributed to his nearly three-year stint at HUD, where his biggest initiative was a bid to reform the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. It failed, but his proposal to bundle all mortgage expenses into a single price drew widespread support from home lenders, especially the bigger ones.
Citigroup Inc. employees and the company's political action committee have donated $10,000 to Mr. Martinez. He also received contributions from the employees and PACs of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., SunTrust Banks Inc., and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
Before joining the Bush administration Mr. Martinez was the chairman of Orange County, a job roughly analogous to being a big-city mayor, and he has received plenty of support from Orlando-area bankers. (Orlando is the county seat.)
When he returned to Orlando after stepping down as HUD secretary, Mr. Martinez joined the board of the $367 million-asset United Heritage Bank of Orlando.
"Most, if not all, of the members of our board" have donated to Mr. Martinez' campaign, said David G. Powers, United Heritage's president and chief executive.
Ms. Castor had received several donations from banking groups, but virtually all of those that gave to her campaign gave larger amounts to Mr. Martinez.
The Florida Bankers Association, for example, gave Ms. Castor $2,500 on Sept. 19, but it gave Mr. Martinez $3,500 in June. SunTrust's PAC gave Ms. Castor $5,000 on Sept. 29, but that came after it made two donations, totaling $7,500, to Mr. Martinez. Regions Financial Corp.'s committee on government affairs gave Ms. Castor $500, but it gave 10 times that amount to Mr. Martinez.
This is the second in a series. On Monday, look for interviews with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Kanjorski, D-Pa., about Bush vs. Kerry; and on Tuesday, a wrap-up of what's at stake in the next administration and on the Hill for financial companies. For other articles in the series, plus a full archive of our Election 2004 coverage click
