TUCSON, Ariz. - Money is the fuel of politics--and we can tell you where it's coming from.
Modern campaign finance reporting lets us track donations down to the zip code they came from. That helps us see patterns that give us some insight into the money trails and where they lead.
A website from the Center for Responsive Politics called Open Secrets.org tracks political contributions. In Arizona, the two most generous zip codes are in Maricopa County.
Through 2019 and early 2020, more than 9.2 million dollars came from the Phoenix area. For donations, the top two zip codes in the state are Paradise Valley with more than three million dollars---that's 56 times the average zip code. The site says the average zip code gives just under $53,884.
A Scottsdale zip code donated more than $1,417,966---that's about 26 times the average zip code.
Tucson's most generous zip code is in the Foothills---85718 ranks number three in Arizona with $1,138,028--about 21 times the average zip.
A lot of the donations are going to committees to support candidates for the Senate or the House.
But for Arizona, donations going direct to candidates have flooded into the race for US Senate.
For the top Tucson zip code Mark Kelly is raising more money for the Senate race than Martha McSally: $319,030 to McSally's $188,173. That's a 51.6% difference.
McSally leads Kelly in the Paradise Valley zip code $234,316 to $225,301 almost a four percent difference
Here’s how Presidential candidates stack up in Arizona. Some have dropped out but still appear in the stats:
- Donald Trump -- $1,633,540
- Bernie Sanders -- $1,050,492
- Elizabeth Warren -- $662,670
- Pete Buttigieg -- $540,793
- Joe Biden -- $387,199
- Kamala Harris -- $272,451
- Andrew Yang -- $215,745
- Amy Klobuchar -- $175,703
