Money In Politics:
Biggest Trump, GOP contributors in WNY
Published October 25, 2020
Donald Trump’s re-election effort is being funded primarily through his campaign committee, two affiliated political action committees and the Republican National Committee, which is directing money to GOP Senate and House candidates, as well. Ken Kruly, Investigative Post researcher and publisher of Politics and Other Stuff, compiled contributions from residents of Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties that were reported to the Federal Elections Commission from 2017, when Trump formed his re-election committee, to this September.
- A companion post detailing local contributions to Joseph Biden can be found here.
- Jim Heaney discusses campaign contributions on WGRZ with Michael Wooten.
- Heaney discusses campaign contributions with David Bellavia on WBEN.
The numbers: Largest local donors
| Name | Location | Amount |
| Mark Rivard | Buffalo | $67,000 |
| Anthony Gioia | Buffalo | $40,400 |
| Jon Williams | Buffalo | $35,000 |
| Charles and Penny Banta | Buffalo | $35,000 |
| Mark Hamister | Dalray, Fla. | $13,800 |
| William Schaab III | Grand Island | $12,930 |
| Leslie Diamond | Clarence Center | $11,190 |
| Louise Hochreiter | Williamsville | $8,400 |
| Dr. Gary Gronser | Williamsville | $7,830 |
| Linda Hall | Frewsburg | $7,499 |
| Pedro Perez | Buffalo | $6,989 |
| Owen Chrisoferson | Buffalo | $6,500 |
| Kenneth Stuart | Buffalo | $6,113 |
| Daniel Gernatt | Angola | $6,000 |
| Peter Kinkel | Clarence | $5,950 |
| Christopher Ryan | North Tonawanda | $5,773 |
| William Irr | North Tonawanda | $5,625 |
| Peter Vranjes | Lackawanna | $5,319 |
| Ellen Wielopolski | Buffalo | $5,088 |
| John Berg | Kenmore | $5,073 |
| Deann Surface | Lancaster | $5,000 |
| Jenna Goldsmith | Buffalo | $5,000 |
Talking Points
- Trump’s campaign, his related PACs and the RNC have received 277 contributions of $1,000 or more from local donors, totaling $813,875.
- More than half of the local donations, $499,968, were made to the RNC. Most of the rest, $290,233, were given to Donald J. Trump for President.
- Twenty-two donors gave at least $5,000, led by Mark Rivard, a retired teacher, who gave $67,000. Almost half Rivard’s donations were directed through the Robinson Credit Shelter Trust of Amherst.
- Three others contributed more than $30,000. They include Anthony Gioia, a longtime prolific GOP fundraiser and contributor; Charles and Penny Banta of Mercury Capital Partners; and Jon Williams, developer and waste management magnate.
- Some notable names who typically give to Republican candidates are missing from the list of contributors of $1,000 or more. The missing include Carl Paladino, Jeremy Jacobs and Louis P. Ciminelli. It’s possible they gave through other campaign committees; Paladino said he’s contributed to Trump, but failed to provide Investigative Post with details. A search of Federal Election Commission records indicates no contributions from Paladino.
- Although he officially resides in Delray Beach, Florida, we included Mark Hamister in the analysis because of his extensive business holdings and civic involvement in Western New York.
Zip codes with the most donations include:
-
- 14226, Amherst, including Snyder and Eggertsville, $108,183.
- 14221, Williamsville, $44,585.
- 14209, Buffalo’s Delaware District, $43,822.
- 14228, West Amherst, north of the UB campus, $43,484.
- 14210, Downtown Buffalo, $40,447.
Podcast
Ken Kruly and Jim Heaney discuss local campaign contributions to the presidential campaigns of Trump and Biden.
Listen to Podcast