Billionaires, unions, Wall Street financiers and Hollywood moguls are among the out-of-state interests bankrolling the Kentucky Senate race between Republican Mitch McConnell and Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, an analysis by the Louisville Courier-Journal shows.
Of the $37 million in combined contributions to the two candidates identified by the newspaper, 85 percent is from out of state.
More than 80 billionaires have pumped money into the race, including McConnell supporter Donald Trump and Grimes backer Steven Spielberg.
Political action committees have given the McConnell campaign about $9 million this election cycle, about 30 percent of what he has raised, according to the Journal. Grimes has gotten about $1 million from PACs, roughly 9 percent of her contributions.
Friendly PACs were counted toward the total for the candidate they support.
A full accounting was not possible because so-called super PACs do not have to disclose their donors.
McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, raised about $3.3 million in the District of Columbia, more than in any other state except Kentucky. Donations also rolled in from top executives of Wall Street firms.
For Grimes, Hollywood celebrities provided a trove of funds, including Ben Affleck, Cameron Diaz, Barbra Streisand and Leonardo DiCaprio, according to the Journal.
McConnell, the Senate majority leader, holds a five-percentage-point lead over Grimes in the most recent aggregate of polls by Real Clear Politics. After running close for months, McConnell’s lead began to grow in early September, and the polling average now shows McConnell favored 47-42.
