President Obama’s technocratic style made him a popular candidate on Wall Street, but this year he’s losing dozens of major donors to Mitt Romney, who made his own fortune in finance.
Romney has raised more than twice as much money from Wall Street donors as Obama this cycle, according to Bloomberg News, thanks in part to donations from at least 100 people who backed Obama in 2008. In 2008, Obama outraised Romney $15 million to $5 million among securities and investment employees.
The Obama campaign, which still is dominating Romney and the rest of the Republican field in overall fundraising, is trying to spin the defections as a sign of Obama’s populism.
“It’s no surprise that the Romney campaign is raising money from Wall Street by saying they want to repeal consumer protections and allow Wall Street to write its own rules,” spokesman Ben LaBolt told Bloomberg.