One in a Series
Follow The Money will be a series looking at the political contributions made to elected officials and candidates running for office in the state of Alabama. The series is not about any legal wrongdoing, but a look at who provides financial support to those holding or seeking office in Alabama and Washington DC.
Up first: Mike Rogers (R), Alabama’s senior most elected representative to the United States House of Representatives.
Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes a portion of east Alabama, including the Auburn / Opelika area. Rogers has served the district for 20 years and currently serves as the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee.
Based on OpenSecrets data*, 76% of the Top 100 political contributions in the 2023 - 2024 election cycle to Mike Rogers' campaign committee have come from individuals and Political Action Committees (PACs) affiliated with companies from outside the state of Alabama. Only 2% of the companies on the Opensecrets' Top 100 contributors list comes from individuals associated with firms based within Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District.
The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) web site shows Alabama contributions to Mike Rogers of $366,308, of the $1,711,825 total, as of February 14, 2024, or about 22%. This map, provided in the FEC link (State tab), shows states where contributions originated, with states in dark green accounting for the highest contribution amounts.
Map Source: Federal Election Commission, March 3, 2024
Big Tech companies on OpenSecrets' Top 100 list with contributions from individuals and PACs to Mike Roger's campaign committee, are Microsoft (#3), Amazon (#21), and Google (#28). Two of the companies on the Top 100 list, Palantir (#5) and Parson Corp (#22), are involved with AI and software technology used in defense and intelligence.
Numerous companies on OpenSecrets' Top 100 List are in the aerospace and defense industry. Multiple companies from the list have operations within the state of Alabama, including in the Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile areas, which are outside of Alabama's 3rd Congressional District. Several donor organizations listed have offices in the Washington, DC area.
Mike Rogers is the Leadership PAC sponsor of American Security PAC. Only about 17% of companies from Alabama appear on OpenSecrets' American Security PAC Top 100 donor list. Seven Alabama companies on this PAC list also contributed to Mike Rogers' campaign committee. Those companies are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Alabama Power, Protective Life, Great Southern Wood Preserving, Aronov Realty, Colsa Corporation, and Dese Research.
Transfers between PACs are outside the scope of this review.
For more information on Political Action Committees (PACs):
* Note from OpenSecrets regarding the lists: “These tables list the top donors to candidates in the 2023 - 2024 election cycle. The organizations themselves did not donate, rather the money came from the organizations' PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.”