For the 2019-2020 election cycle, construction companies and trade organizations have donated a combined $144.1 million to federal candidates, parties and committees as of Oct. 23, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That already exceeds the sector’s final 2020 total of $137.7 million spent during the 2015-16 cycle, the last one that included a presidential race.
Dissatisfaction with politics drove down numbers of some groups, while others increased contributions because of the help offered by Congress during the pandemic, they say.