According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics at opensecrets.org, Elise Stefanik, the Republican candidate for New York's 21st Congressional District is one of the top recipients of money amongst all House Candidates from Wall Street investment banking firms and hedge funds. According to opensecrets.org, Elise Stefanik is the second highest recipient of hedge fund contributions amongst all House candidates during the 2014 election cycle, receiving $137,066 in donations, placing her right behind House Speaker John Boehner, who received $138,400 in donations. In addition, Stefanik has also received a substantial amount of campaign cash from high-profile New York City investment banking firms. According to opensecrets.org, Stefanik ranks eighteenth amongst House candidates in receiving contributions from the securities and investment sector during the 2014 election cycle, hauling in $196,015 in donations so far.
A significant portion of Stefanik's hedge fund campaign cash has come from billionaire Manhattan investor Paul Singer, the CEO of hedge fund management firm Elliot Management, which has garnered a substantial amount of attention in recent years for its distressed sovereign debt trading activities. This year, Argentina defaulted after being unable to settle a debt dispute with Mr. Singer and Elliot Management.
From The New York Times, July 30, 2014:
"The hedge fund firm of billionaire Paul E. Singer has about 300 employees, yet it has managed to force Argentina, a nation of 41 million people, into a position where it now has to contemplate a humbling surrender."
"Argentina on Wednesday failed to make scheduled payments on its government bonds. The country has the money to pay the bonds. But a federal court in Manhattan has ruled that unless Argentina settles its debt dispute with Mr. Singer’s firm, Elliott Management, it is barred from paying its main bondholders."
"After more than five hours of meetings on Wednesday, the sides failed to reach an agreement and the court-appointed mediator said that Argentina would “imminently be in default.” Because a $539 million interest payment was not made, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said that Argentina was in default on those bonds."
From
Bloomberg Businessweek, August 7, 2014:
"How does a New Yorker help tip over the second-largest economy in South America a few weeks before his 70th birthday? By being stubborn, self-righteous, clever, and willing to take his decade-long fight against the country to a Las Vegas court, a Ghanaian seaport, weapons warehouses in Maryland, and at least two rocket launches."
"Most bondholders from the last Argentine crisis, in 2001, agreed to accept about a third of what they were owed and move on when the country renegotiated its debt and traded new bonds for the old ones. Singer, whose Elliott Management oversees $24.8 billion, wanted more. He went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to make sure bondholders who compromised can’t get paid until he does, and his victory there in June meant the country would default unless it surrendered to him. Argentina said its hands were tied, and it simply couldn’t sweeten Singer’s deal. It defaulted."
Known by some political observers as the Republican "fundraising terrorist," Paul Singer is the largest individual contributor to Elise Stefanik's congressional campaign. This year Stefanik's campaign received $110,000 from "Winning Women," a committee founded by Singer dedicated to electing more Republican women to Congress. According to FEC disclosure records, 41% of Stefanik's first quarter donations came from Singer's Winning Women PAC.
"Paul Singer, the so-called "fundraising terrorist," is at it again."
"The founder of the multibillion-dollar hedge fund Elliott Management, Singer is a Republican mega-donor without peer. He cuts checks to candidates and political committees, mingles at the donor retreats convened by Charles and David Koch, and, more recently, has used his wealth to nudge the Republican Party into the 21st century. He bankrolls a super-PAC that supports pro-gay marriage Republicans, funds pro-immigration reform groups, and recently started his own club of donors, a la the Kochs, to join him in his effort"
"Winning Women was formed in February, records show. In the first quarter of 2014, the committee funneled more than $320,000 to three candidates: Barbara Comstock, a former GOP consultant and opposition researcher vying to replace retiring Rep. Frank Wolf in Virginia's 10th congressional district; Elise Stefanik, a former Bush administration aide running to represent New York's 21st; and Martha McSally, a retired Air Force colonel in Arizona's second district trying for the second time to unseat Democrat Rep. Ron Barber."
"For each of three candidates, Winning Women's money provided a major cash infusion.* In Stefanik's case, the $110,917 she received from Winning Women made up 41 percent of the donations to her campaign from January to March."
In addition to Singer, an analysis of
Stefanik's itemized individual contributions from her FEC disclosure records reveals numerous contributions from New York City-area investment bankers, venture capitalists and hedge fund managers:
David McCormick, Co-President, Bridgewater Associates, Southport, CT, $2,600 on 6/16/2014
Jared Weinstein, Venture Capitalist, Thrive Capital, New York, NY, $250 on 5/29/2014 and $250 on 8/6/2013
Leland Miller, CEO, CBB International, New York, NY, $250 on 5/7/2014
David B. Forer, Managing Director, Intermarket Corporation, New York, NY, $2,600 on 3/7/2014
Craig J. Goldberg, Managing Director, Synterra Capital Management, New York, NY, $250 on 1/14/2014
Justin Muzinich, President, Muzinich & Co., New York, NY, $2,600 on 12/30/2013
Frederick Sykes, Managing Director, NWI Management, Rye, NY, $2,600 on 12/30/2013
Faraz Munaim, Vice President, Deutsche Bank Securities, New York, NY, $250 on 12/30/2013
William J. Musser Jr., New Frontier Capital, New York, NY, $2,600 on 12/26/2013
Ganesh Betanabhatla, Managing Director, Talara Capital Management, New York, NY, $500 on 9/30/2013
Brent C. Herlihy, Blackstone, New York City and Glens Falls, NY, $250 on 9/29/2013
Joseph C. Wall, Vice President of Government Affairs, Goldman Sachs, Arlington, VA, $250 on 9/26/2013
Katherine B. Yearwood, Senior Portfolio Analysts, New Holland Capital, LLC, Brooklyn, NY, $250 on 9/26/2013
Daniel A. Dunay, Vice President, BlackRock, Fair Lawn, NJ, $1,000 on 9/20/2013
Dan Senor, Senior Advisor, Elliott Management, New York, NY, $2,600 on 8/28/2013
(husband of former CNN anchor Campbell Brown)