Open Secrets: Sugar Cane & Sugar Beets Political Influence

ARTICLE REFERENCE: Sugar Cane & Sugar Beets Political Influence

Over the past two decades, there have only been three cycles in which the sugar industry contributed more to Republican candidates and party committees than to their Democratic counterparts: Way back in 1996, then in 2012 and 2016. And the GOP may be getting the sweeter deal, as sugar has grown more generous with each cycle since 2002; 2016’s contribution total of nearly $8 million was an all-time high.

Leading the pack was American Crystal Sugar, a sugar-centric agricultural cooperative, which contributed almost $2.2 million; Democrats received about 51 percent of those funds. American Crystal Sugar’s contributions were impressive more broadly, too, as it was the second-greatest donor of the entire agribusiness sector of which sugar is a part. Another top contributor was Fanjul Corp., which trailed American Crystal Sugar within the industry and came in fourth overall among agribusiness organizations. Fanjul gave more than $2 million in the 2016 cycle. [Read more Background]

Top Contributors, 2019-2020

*(Move your cursor over the chart to see dollar amounts.)*
Contributor	Amount
American Crystal Sugar	$2,120,674
Florida Crystals	$915,680
American Sugar Cane League	$379,500
Michigan Sugar	$344,090
Snake River Sugar	$333,820
Minn-Dak Farmers Co-Op	$282,500
Southern Minn Beet Sugar Co-Op	$271,000
Florida Sugar Cane League	$269,167
Western Sugar Cooperative	$247,590
US Sugar	$185,410
American Sugarbeet Growers Assn	$93,500
Sugar Cane Growers Co-op of Florida	$86,333
US Beet Sugar Assn	$30,000
California Beet Growers Assn	$10,200
Artisan Sugars	$6,738