Starbucks employees have given more than $1 million to Democratic candidates, committees, or associated groups during the past 15 years, according to new data that shows employees gave far less to Republicans.
The data, compiled and analyzed by GovPredict based on public campaign and tax records, found that about 1,500 of Starbucks’ 230,000 employees as of last year have contributed. Of their donations, they spent $1,090,936 on Democrats or Democratic causes since 2004, roughly 87 percent of all contributions. In comparison, Republicans received only $156,006 or 13 percent of donations over the same time period.
The analysis was released after former Starbucks CEO and executive chairman Howard Schultz announced in January he was seriously considering an independent bid for the White House in 2020. Schultz’ decision to potentially enter the fray as a third-party candidate was met with derision by Democrats concerned that he might split the Democratic vote and return President Trump to the Oval Office. He has also come under scrutiny over how he would separate from the company he helped to turn into a multinational conglomerate.
When GovPredict looked at Schultz’ political spending since 2004, the nonpartisan public affairs firm found the self-made billionaire contributed $85,050 to Democrats or Democratic issues and $20,250 to Republicans.
GovPredict founder Emil Pitkin said his team examined information from the Federal Election Commission, state- and city-based campaign contribution portals, and Internal Revenue Service disclosures filed by “527” political organizations.
“There were 618 unique committees that Starbucks employees have contributed to,” he said. “We categorized every one as Republican or Democratic; non-partisan judges’ races were excluded for this partisan analysis; causes affiliated with a particular party’s platform, such as gun control, were appropriately categorized.”
Schultz is currently touring the country as part of a national book tour. He has said he would disband a hypothetical campaign should polling indicate he was assisting Trump.
