How do supermarket donations to Donald Trump and Republican candidates compare to donations to Democrats over the last three election cycles?
Executive summary
Major supermarket and food-store political giving is mixed but leans Republican in recent cycles: Kroger and Albertsons’ combined PAC donations this congressional cycle went 58% to Republicans (Reuters) and Albertsons’ PAC gave $291,500 through June 2024, more than triple its 2021–2022 pace [1]. Wider food-and-beverage industry giving fell in 2024 with donations to Democrats down 46% to $1.8 million and to Republicans down about 42% to $1.5 million through Sept. 22, 2024 [2].
1. Big chains give to both sides, but recent groceries tilted right
Supermarket corporate PACs generally split dollars across parties, yet recent Federal Election Commission data analyzed by Reuters shows Kroger and Albertsons’ combined congressional donations in the 2024 cycle favored Republicans — 58% to GOP congressional campaigns — even as both firms continued to give to numerous Democrats [1]. Albertsons’ PAC was particularly active, reporting $291,500 through June 2024 — a sharp acceleration from prior cycles [1].
2. Industrywide decline in 2024, almost even partisan totals
A Food Dive compilation of 15 large food and beverage companies shows a substantial drop in contributions for 2024 versus earlier cycles: donations to Democrats fell 46% to $1.8 million while donations to Republicans fell about 42% to $1.5 million, leaving totals nearly even by party through Sept. 22, 2024 [2]. That decline reflects a broader pullback in corporate giving during a heated political environment and shorter reporting windows for 2024 data [2].
3. PAC limits, employee and affiliate giving complicate the picture
Federal rules cap corporate PAC contributions to candidates (corporate PACs can give up to $10,000 to campaigns), and many industry totals include PACs, employees and affiliates rather than “the company” directly, creating nuance when attributing partisan lean [1] [3]. Snopes emphasizes that lists claiming “companies donated to Trump” often conflate corporate action with donations by executives, PACs or employees, and notes companies donated variously across 2016, 2020 and 2024 — sometimes to Republicans, sometimes to Democrats [4].
4. OpenSecrets shows industry-level tracking but offers varied signals
OpenSecrets compiles “Food Stores” and “Food & Beverage” money profiles and PAC detail that let researchers break down contributors by cycle and by candidate type; its 2023–2024 pages are based on FEC data released Feb. 6, 2025 [5] [6]. One OpenSecrets PAC-level listing flagged that “Food stores PACs gave $0 total to federal candidates in 2024,” indicating industry-wide categorizations can produce surprising headline figures depending on how donations are classified [7]. That underlines the need to check whether figures include direct candidate gifts, outside groups, or other political spending [3].
5. Company-by-company reality varies; restaurant chains show GOP tilt historically
Not all food-related firms behave the same. Analyses of restaurant chains (distinct from supermarkets) found most corporate PACs have historically favored Republicans while a few brands or employee-dominated giving skew Democratic; the pattern is company-specific rather than industry-determinative [8]. Snopes’ review likewise found some companies gave primarily to Trump-era Republicans in certain years while in other years giving was more balanced [4].
6. What these numbers don’t answer — and why that matters
Available sources do not mention precise three-cycle (2018–2024) aggregated dollar totals for “supermarket” donations explicitly broken by party beyond cycle snapshots and company examples; comprehensive cross-cycle comparisons require constructing consistent definitions (which firms included, whether employee or corporate treasury dollars count, and whether presidential vs. congressional donations are separated) from FEC/OpenSecrets raw data [5] [7]. The varied methodologies of Reuters, Food Dive, Snopes and OpenSecrets mean different narratives can be supported depending on which data and timeframes are used [1] [2] [4] [5].
7. Bottom line for readers and researchers
Supermarket and food-industry giving is not monolithic: some large grocery PACs leaned Republican in the 2024 congressional cycle (Kroger/Albertsons at 58% GOP), overall food-and-beverage donations dropped in 2024 and ended near parity by party in available snapshots [1] [2], and finer conclusions require careful parsing of PAC vs. employee giving and consistent multi-cycle data pulls from FEC/OpenSecrets [3] [5]. Researchers seeking a definitive three-cycle percentage split should compile FEC/OpenSecrets itemized giving for each identified supermarket PAC and donor across 2018–2024 to avoid misleading aggregation [5] [7].