Mystery Firm Donates Record $5.3M to GOP PAC

Biggest corporate donor of 2012 cycle
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2012 11:33 AM CST
Mystery Firm Donates Record $5.3M to GOP PAC
This Oct. 30, 2012 file photo shows people voting early at the Salt Lake County Government Building in Salt Lake City, ahead of the Nov. 6 election.   (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

A somewhat murky outfit called Specialty Group has become the election's biggest corporate donor, handing $5.3 million to a conservative super PAC over the course of 10 days last month. But that's about all anyone knows about the company, founded just a month ago and based in Knoxville, Tenn. Its business address is a private home, it lacks a website, and its lawyer—the only name linked to the company—has a disconnected phone number, NBC reports. A look at some of the other big-time super PACs and corporate donors:

  • The second-biggest corporate donor is Oxbow Carbon, owned by William Koch, brother of David and Charles.
  • Third is Contran, a firm owned by Texas donor Harold Simmons.
  • Chevron is something of a rarity among Fortune 500 groups who are also major donors; it gave $2.5 million to a group linked to John Boehner.
Some 85% of corporate cash went to Republican-allied groups, while 11% went to Democrat-affiliated organizations. But the biggest donations have come from businesspeople's personal coffers. (Read more Election 2012 stories.)

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