The advantage Vice president Kamala Harris enjoys generally in deep blue California also holds up when it comes to the real estate industry.
Industry executives account for nine of top 100 donors to various third-party political action committees in the presidential campaign, according to The Los Angeles Times, which showed 89 giving to Harris and 11 to former president Donald Trump.
The nine industry donors split also went for Harris in a lopsided fashion, with seven backing her and two given to Trump.
Here’s a list of top donors with real estate ties in the Golden State, based on Federal Election Commission filings as of Sept. 30.
Harris supporters
Peter Lowy, the shopping center mogul who previously ran Westfield, now part of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, gave $1.85 million to a committee backing Harris, ranking No. 2 on the list. Lowy Family Group is co-headquartered in Los Angeles.
Eli Reinhard, owner of Arcadia Development, followed close behind with donations that round to $1.85 million. Arcadia Development is based in San Jose.
George Marcus, chairman of brokerage Marcus & Millichap in Calabasas, gave $1.12 million to Harris Victory Fund. Marcus formerly served as a regent for the University of California.
CEO Wayne Jordan of Jordan Real Estate Investments in Oakland donated $1.1 million to the same fund. The firm has a portfolio of Oakland properties.
Samuel Pritker wrote checks for $932,000 for Harris. His Houston-based company Cranberry Lake Associates develops properties, but he lives in the architecturally significant Samuel-Navarro House in L.A., which he bought in 2020. He is one of four Pritzkers appearing on the list, all descended from the family that founded the Hyatt hotel chain.
Beverly Hills luxury residential broker Kurt Rappaport, co-founder of Westside Estates Agency, gave $929,600 to the Harris Victory Fund. Last year Rappaport represented both sides of a deal in which Beyonce — an avid Harris campaigner — and her husband Jay-Z paid $200 million for a Malibu estate.
Finally, Thomas Safran, chairman of affordable housing builder Thomas Safran & Associates, donated $610,962 to back Harris. Last month the company quit a project in Whittier, citing the health of its chairman as the reason.
Trump backers
Geoffrey Palmer, owner of Beverly Hills development firm G.H. Palmer Associates, is the top real estate industry Trump supporter on the list at No. 71. He gave $819,600 to the Trump 47 Committee and Trump Save America.
Steve Eggbert donated $618,300 to the Trump 47 Committee. Eggbert is co-founder of Anton Devco, a multifamily development firm in Sacramento.
Harris would be expected to have a clear fundraising advantage: she’s a California native who served as the state’s junior senator and attorney general before going on the national ticket as Joe Biden’s vice president in 2020. Trump, meanwhile, has frequently bashed California and its leaders on a range of issues and in the 2020 presidential campaign lost the state by nearly 20 percentage points.
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