U.S. Rep Scott Garrett receives financial support from country's biggest banks

scott garrettU.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Warren/Sussex, speaks during a news conference last October on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett's campaign war chest increased to $1.7 million in the last three months of 2011 thanks to big industry, the country's largest banks and individual donors.

New Jersey's 5th Congressional District representative received money from the political committees of billionaire oil tycoons Charles and David Koch, General Electric, Sallie Mae and many others in the last year, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Nine of the Federal Reserve's top 10 bank holding companies -- CitiGroup, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and MetLife -- contributed to Garrett's campaign in 2011.

The only major bank Garrett did not accept money from was Goldman Sachs, which he publicly criticized in 2010 for benefiting from a federal tax money bailout.

chase.JPGJPMorgan Chase contributed $6,500 to U.S. Rep Scott Garrett's re-election campaign in 2011.

Goldman's political action committee was the second largest contributor to Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. The committee also donated roughly $14,000 to Garrett's campaign in 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010, public documents show.

Inganamort did not comment on individual contributions but did say in the statement what the money would be used for.

Local contributors

Locally, the congressman received money from political and industry leaders.

Douglas Steinhardt, chairman of the Warren County Republican Committee, personally donated $2,000.

He said Monday Garrett was a "good conservative congressman" and was the chairman of a House Financial Services subcommittee at a "very critical time."

Two well-known land developers in northern New Jersey, Andrew and Eugene Mulvihill, donated a combined $5,000.

Andrew Mulvihill, one of the principal owners of Mountain Creek ski resort in Sussex County, said he did not support Garrett for business purposes.

He called Garrett a "genuine" conservative and "way ahead of the curve" on the financial downturn.

El Paso Corporation, the company attempting to build a natural gas pipeline through 16 miles of Highlands Act-protected land, gave $1,000 to Garrett last year.

Construction on the 40-mile Tennessee Gas Pipeline was stalled two weeks ago by

doug steinhardt headshotLopatcong Township Mayor Douglas Steinhardt, a Garrett donor, says he has confidence in the congressman's leadership.

the state Highlands Council after complaints by residents about its environmental impact.

2012 challengers

Garrett may need the money to fight a primary campaign in addition to the November election.

Republican Michael Cino, 48, of Bergen County, said last week he had filed paperwork to challenge Garrett in the June primary.

The Reform Party's Mark Quick, of Frelinghuysen Township, announced Friday he would run for Congress in the 5th District.

Two Democrats -- Teaneck Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen and Passaic County Freeholder Terry Duffy -- have announced plans to seek the Democratic nomination in June to face the GOP nominee.

NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson, a Democrat, told the Associated Press earlier this month he is considering running against Garrett.

A Facebook page has formed to convince the former New York Giants linebacker to oppose Garrett.

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CONTRIBUTIONS OF NOTE

Political action committee contributions of note to U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett in 2011:

  • JPMorgan Chase, $6,500
  • Bank of America, $5,000
  • CitiGroup, $2,500
  • Wells Fargo, $3,500
  • Morgan Stanley, $7,500
  • MetLife, $2,000
  • HSBC, $1,000
  • U.S. Bancorp, $1,000
  • Bank of New York Mellon Corp., $5,000
  • Deutsche Bank Americas Corp., $2,000
  • American Express, $4,000
  • El Paso Corp., $1,000
  • ING Group, $1,500
  • Koch Industries, $3,500
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers, $8,000
  • Sallie Mae, $1,500
  • Wal-Mart, $1,000
  • Barclays, $5,000
  • General Electric, $2,000
  • AT&T, $1,000
  • FirstEnergy Corp., $1,000
  • Mastercard, $2,000

Source: Federal Election Commission

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