32963 top zip code in contributions to Romney campaign
STORY BY MEG LAUGHLIN, (Week of June 21, 2012)
Of all the zip codes in the country, more contributions are going to Republican Mitt Romney from the 32963 barrier island than anywhere else.
The Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C., tracks what U.S. zip codes top the list for the most contributions to Mitt Romney and Barak Obama.
The barrier island appeared on a U.S. map in the Chicago Tribune with this caption: “Zip Code 32963 (Romney’s biggest): $491,067.”
For Obama, the zip code with the most donors for the same time period is 10024, which is the upper west side of Manhattan and Morningside Heights. But the New Yorkers in that zip code only shelled out $146,851 for Obama – about a quarter of what 32963 residents gave Romney over four months.
Other large contributors in Florida for Romney have been zip codes 33480 (the Palm Beach island) and 34102 (Naples). Zip code 33139, which is Miami’s South Beach, shows $148,170 for Obama and $104,004 for Romney as of June 4, while zip code 33156, which includes the wealthy south Miami residential neighborhoods of Pinecrest and Gables by the Sea, gave $140,000 to Romney and $94,305 to Obama by June 4, according to FEC numbers published online by OpenSecrets.org.
The site shows $554,730 from the Vero Beach barrier island going to Romney as of June 4, and only $20,562 going to Obama.
What is noteworthy about the 32963 contributions to Romney is the whopping amount, making national news, understates what he actually received.
The numbers don’t reflect contributions from the many seasonal residents who list their addresses in other states on their tax forms, instead of their winter homes on the barrier island. So, while 32963 is listed as the largest contributor to Romney in the country, the numbers only reflect a portion of the money actually going to him from this zip code. More likely, the numbers from here are in the millions.
Nor do the FEC contributions include any of the Super Pac money from 32963 donors, which could easily quadruple the amount.
A look at 32963 donors to Romney’s campaign by name shows that a lot of the money coming from here is citrus money. A big chunk is also coming from John’s Island and Windsor residents.
Custom home builders make up a good percentage of contributors from the barrier island. Often, the source of the money is somewhat enigmatic, with the nondescript word “retired” appearing in the employer category, as well as the word “homemaker.”
Much of this money flowed into the Romney campaign chest when he came to the barrier island for a big fund raiser in March.
