Northwest Arkansas Business Donation Dollars

The Huffington Post sure makes it easy to see where folks in this corner of the state are sending their political dollars.

Just type in a city or ZIP code and you’ll get a list of everyone who has donated to a presidential campaign in 2007, 2008 or even as far back as 2004.

In a breakdown of the big 4 cities, Democrats are holding a slight edge with $159,376 to the Republicans’ $150,918 (which would likely be larger including the 72701 area of Fayetteville, for which a summary was not available).

Not surprisingly, the Dems are winning in Fayetteville by nearly a 5-to-1 margin while the GOP holds a 3-to-1 edge in Rogers and a 2-1 lead in Bentonville. In Springdale, Dems lead the GOP $40,790 to $29,000.

Notably, Sen. Hillary Clinton has raised a relatively nice amount in Springdale thanks to longtime friends Nancy and Jim Blair, who have already given the maximum $9,200 for the primary and general election campaigns should Clinton eke out the nomination.

Gary George and Gene George of Georges Inc. have each given $2,300 to Clinton while poultry rivals John Tyson and Don Tyson each gave $2,300 to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who lost the GOP nomination to Sen. John McCain. Tyson Foods Inc. CEO Richard Bond gave $1,000 to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Don Tyson has also given the maximum $4,600 to Clinton, as have Barbara Tyson and Willard Walker.

In the world of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CEO Lee Scott and his wife Linda each gave $2,300 to Huckabee last summer and Linda Scott made a $3,300 donation to Clinton in early 2008.

Wal-Mart chief operating officer William Simon has been most active supporting the GOP. He’s donated $600 to actor/former Sen. Fred Thompson, $500 to McCain, $500 to Romney, $450 to Huckabee and $250 to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The GOP candidates received $30,509 in donations from Wal-Mart employees while the Dems pulled just $11,300.

And speaking of mayors, Fayetteville mayor Dan Coody has donated $750 to Clinton. Other notable Fayetteville Clinton backers include George Faucette ($2,000), Woody Bassett ($2,300), Ken Mourton ($2,300) and Bob McBride ($2,300).