How Amazon’s Money Could Influence the Harris vs. Trump Election
Written by
Dawn Allcot
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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When it comes to winning elections, money matters. Campaign donations fund outreach and messaging to help reinforce a candidate’s stance on issues and sway undecided voters. Spending in the 2020 presidential campaign reached $14.4 billion, according to OpenSecrets.com.
With billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk digging deep into their pockets for this year’s election, donations could play a larger role than ever before. Musk committed to giving Republican candidate Donald Trump $45 million per month through a new super PAC, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos and Amazon workers are putting their money — and their mouths — behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Research from OpenSecrets showed Amazon employees have donated more than $1 million to Harris, while workers at Blue Origin, Bezos’ private aerospace company, donated roughly $27,000. This support from tech giants could help Harris at the polls.
Employees at Amazon, notably corporate employees, have donated more to political campaigns than have employees at other large retail organizations, including Walmart, Reuters reported.
Although there are no public reports of Bezos donating directly to the Harris campaign in 2024, a look at his donation history at OpenSecrets indicates he has donated thousands to Democrats in the past (with a few donations to Republicans, as well).
Additionally, due to a software glitch, Amazon Alexa devices reportedly gave a glowing recommendation for Harris as the next U.S. President while refusing to endorse any political party or leader when users asked for reasons to vote for Trump. The error was quickly fixed, however, as videos circulated the internet in early September.
Additionally, an exclusive report from Variety revealed that Amazon is in talks with news anchor Brian Williams to host a live Election Night special on Amazon Prime Video. The goal, according to Variety, is to “have a non-partisan discussion of the evening’s events.”
However, given Amazon’s track record for backing Democratic candidates, this coverage, if it occurs, could sway voters at the last minute and potentially steer election results.
Bezos is not the only Silicon Valley tech giant or billionaire to support Harris. Melinda French Gates and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings donated to Harris’ campaign, with the latter giving $7 million, according to a report at The Information.
Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban also voiced his support for Harris as President, sharing in an X post, “She is pro-business. She is more supportive of entrepreneurs than any other candidate in recent memory. It’s only going to get better.”
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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