President Bush fell behind Democratic candidate Bill Clinton in California popularity polls in this year's presidential campaign, but the GOP was ahead of the Democrats almost three to one in state soft money donations, according to the Examiner. Computer-assisted reporter Lance Williams looked at FEC records on state corporate contribu- tions to four Democratic and four Republican committees from the beginning of the election cycle through June 1st to show how the GOP had raised $5.5 million in Californian "soft-money"-- beefy company donations exempt from election finance reform laws that are meant to lessen the influence of special interest money in presidential campaigns.
Williams' analysis showed the GOP has received particularly large donations from energy firms worried about laws restricting oil drilling, agribusiness interests worried about losing federal subsidies and real estate interests that would profit from a Bush plan to free up wetlands for develop- ment. The Examiner also listed the three top donors in each of six sectors, from energy to entertainment. During this one-month, one-person project, Williams looked at more than 7,000 contributors and used dBASE to sort data according to interest group.