Arlington Political Donors Giving Much Less in '12

While political contributions out of Arlington County so far during the 2012 election cycle amount to only one-third of what was donated four years ago, contributions made here are still many times the national average.

Eleven ZIP codes cover Arlington. Political contributions by ZIP code available at OpenSecrets.org show that collectively Arlington County residents have given about $7.2 million so far this election cycle. That’s a huge drop from the $22.3 million contributed four years ago.

Much of the difference can be accounted by the fact that this is a heavily blue area and President Barack Obama is running uncontested for his party’s nomination. The Obama-Clinton rivalry drew voters, and their wallets, out in droves during the last election cycle.

It’s also perhaps at least partly the result of a relatively ho-hum “super” Tuesday nominating contest for Republicans, one that only allows voters to choose either former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or Texas Rep. Ron Paul. An NBC News/Marist poll released Sunday of 529 likely voters shows Romney easily besting Paul 69-26 in Virginia, though that same organization shows Obama carrying the commonwealth by a wide margin in November no matter who eventually wins the GOP nomination.

When campaigns don’t spend money to win a primary – former Arlington County Republican Chairman Mark Kelly from either camp – that can set the entire party back. Healthy primaries lay the groundwork for a political party’s organization going into the general election.

Contributions in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, expectedly, lean to the left.

In ZIP code 22209 – Rosslyn – the top recipients so far this cycle are the Democratic National Committee ($48,705), Obama ($24,168), Romney ($23,750) and ex-Gov. Tim Kaine ($17,500), who is running for the U.S. Senate. Contributors here have given about 14 times as much as the average ZIP code nationally.

In ZIP code 22201 – Colonial Village, Lyon Village, Lyon Park and Virginia Square – the top recipients include Obama ($40,705), Kaine ($32,950), Romney ($24,790) and Republican Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch ($12,000). Political contributions in this ZIP code are about 29 times the national average.

Perhaps one of the most interesting ZIP codes is 22207, which includes Bellevue Forest, Donaldson Run, Yorktown and Rock Spring. Its top 10 recipients:

• Romney ($98,425)
• Obama ($90,844)
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($88,784)
• Kaine ($81,450)
• National Republican Congressional Committee ($58,600)
• Democratic National Committee ($49,884)
• National Republican Senatorial Committee ($40,000)
• Senate candidate George Allen ($26,900)
• Hatch ($25,000)
• Democratic Montana Sen. Jon Tester ($21,250)

Donors in 22207 have given about 75 times as much as the average ZIP code nationwide.

The following table shows a breakdown of political contributions by ZIP code this year compared to four years ago according to OpenSecrets.org:

* ZIP code 22101 is largely McLean; only a tiny part of it is in Arlington County.

** ZIP code 22211 consists largely of Fort Myer and Arlington National Cemetery.