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Law Faculty Campaign Contributions

David Bernstein:

So far, people listing their occupation as “law professor” have donated $18,365 to Republicans, and $149,542 to Democrats. Those who list their occupation as “professor of law” have donated $500 to Republicans, and $34,565 to Democrats.

A caution on extrapolating from those data points: on the one hand, the Democratic candidates in general [that is, from the public at large] have raised much more money than have the Republicans; on the other hand, given the much smaller number of Republican law professors, donating to a campaign is more likely to help get a Republican professor a future political appointment, perhaps giving an extra incentive to some Republicans to donate.

Ninety-seven self-described law professors have donated to Barack Obama, only thirty-five to Hillary Clinton. Fred Thompson is the Republican favorite, with seven donors, compared to Giuliani’s five and McCain’s four. Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Dennis Kucinich have none.

Perusing the lists turns up few surprises. Here’s one that struck me, though. As recently as 2005, Yeshiva University law professor Marci Hamilton self-identified as “a conservative, a Republican, and a Christian.” One thus wonders why she’s given $4600 to Barack Obama.

As for UCLA, so far persons identified with it have given $900 to Republicans $51,843 to Democrats. Perhaps oddly, only one of m fellow law profs is listed.