Real estate professionals have donated to both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s campaigns, with housing and myriad other issues on their minds.
An analysis of Federal Election Commission data by The Real Deal, looking at the final months of the election cycle, provides a snapshot of who’s supporting whom for president and Congress.
Since June, Trump has received donations from longtime friends and loyalists, including his in-laws.
Developer Charles Kushner, who was pardoned by Trump in 2020 and whose son Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, has given more than $1 million to Trump committees and PACs since June.
In July, Midtown Equities’ Joseph Cayre, as well as the Chera and Wynn families, hosted a high-dollar fundraiser for Trump in Deal, New Jersey. Kushner, Ben Ashkenazy, Joe Moinian, Steve Witkoff and John Catsimatidis were co-hosts of the event. Hosts pledged $500,000 each and co-hosts $250,000, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Arnold Gumowitz, president of AAG Management, gave a Trump-focused PAC $100,000 in June. Gumowitz is a perennial donor in state races, and gave to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign in 2022 as he fought her plans to expand and develop around Penn Station, which would require the demolition of two of Gumowitz’s buildings. (Last year, Hochul shelved the megadevelopment, at least for the moment.)
Jeffrey Katz, CEO of developer Sherwood Equities, donated $15,000 to Harris committees and PACs in July. He said he’s backing the vice president over concerns that Trump’s policies would be “devastatingly destabilizing to the economy.”
“If there’s a healthy economy, New York will prosper and thrive,” said Katz, whose firm’s portfolio includes portions of 2 Times Square and 1600 Broadway. “If the general economy is devastated, New York is going to suffer.”
Though Harris and Trump have touted their plans to address the housing shortfall, Katz expressed doubt over whether their policies would have much impact.
“They’re all nibbling around the edges,” he said.
In August, both Hudson Realty Capital’s David Loo and developer Douglas Durst donated $3,500 and $2,500, respectively, to a Harris-associated PAC.
With control of the House and Senate hanging in the balance, some prominent industry players directed more of their money to congressional races. Control of Congress will largely determine the fate of Opportunity Zones, housing incentives and Republicans’ 2017 federal tax overhaul.
The tax law, which lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, expires at the end of 2025. Trump wants to bring that down to 15 percent, while Harris wants to increase it to 28 percent. Other provisions, including 1031 exchanges and special treatment for pass-through entities, are also on the table.
Trump recently reversed his stance on the cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, that he signed into law seven years ago. The cap drew the industry’s ire, especially in New York.
Since June, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman has given more than $11 million to PACs favoring Republican candidates for Congress. Meanwhile, Blackstone President Jonathan Gray gave the Democratic National Committee $123,900 in July and, in September, $500,000 to a PAC focused on maintaining a Democratic majority in the Senate.
After cutting a $100,000 check to the Biden campaign this year, developer Jeff Gural decided his money was better spent on congressional races, though he doesn’t harbor much hope for Democrats keeping control of the Senate.
“I think they could win the House, and I have no idea what is going to happen in the presidential,” the head of GFP Real Estate said.
Since June, Gural has donated more than $120,000 to Democratic congressional candidates, including Elissa Slotkin in Michigan and Dr. Amish Shah in Arizona. His largest donations, $25,000 each, were to a PAC affiliated with New York Sen. and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and American Bridge 21st Century, a PAC opposing Republican candidates.
National races can influence state politics, as the 2016 election demonstrated by fueling the rise two years later of progressive Democrats in the state legislature. Real Estate Attorney Stuart Saft said he is watching state Senate and Assembly races to see if Trump’s coattails on Long Island yield more seats for Republicans and moves the legislature “closer to the center” and “ends the competition with California as to who can be less business- and real estate–friendly.”
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One point of potential agreement: People are keen to see an end to this election cycle.
“I think everybody in the country can’t wait for this to be over,” Gural said. “We’re bombarded with commercials, and people want a level of certainty.”