Election Day Is Here: Which Politicians Are Profiting (Or Losing) On Stocks?

Zinger Key Points
  • Congress enacts laws for the U.S. and its members are free to buy and sell stocks.
  • Which congressional members are buying and selling?

U.S. voters will spend the majority of Tuesday casting their ballots for the candidates they want to represent them in Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

These elections, which take place every two years and coincide with the president's four-year term, are known as the midterms.

Congress enacts laws for the U.S., and its members are free to buy and sell stocks in publicly-traded corporations as long as they are transparent about the transactions, which recently became more controversial.

Read Also: US Stocks Keep Calm Ahead Of Midterms As Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Surge — Tesla, Nvidia, Lyft, Take-Two In Focus

There are politicians running for office today who have raked in money with assets that intersected with their congressional work. We’ve gathered a list of just a few notable names of those running for office and those who are not.

Bill Cassidy
Senator, R-LA.

While CVS Health Corp CVS was the subject of a bipartisan probe concerning surprise medical billing, Cassidy's wife sold shares of the company. About a month later, Cassidy was credited with helping to broker legislation outlawing the practice as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Judy Chu
Representative, D-CALIF.

Chu's husband, who sits on the board of Apollo Medical Holdings AMEH, a healthcare organization with headquarters in Chu's district, bought shares in the business in 2019 for $45,000 to $150,000.

Katherine M. Clark
Representative, D-MASS.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for whom Clark's committee determines financing, has contracts with a number of healthcare organizations that Clark's husband traded stock.

Steve Cohen
Representative, D-TENN.

While serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Cohen sold stock in a number of transportation firms, including $1,000 to $15,000 worth of Boeing Co BA at a time when the committee was looking into the manufacturer's 737 MAX aircraft accidents.

Nancy Pelosi
Representative and Speaker of the House, D-CALIF.

According to public filings, Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, invested in real estate and technology. Between 2019 and 2021, he bought and sold stocks, options and other financial assets totaling $25 million to $81 million.

Mitch McConnell
Senator, R-KY.

Elaine Chao, McConnell's wife and a former Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation acquired and sold shares in three distinct industries, although McConnell does not have stock in any specific company.

John Boozman
Senator, R-ARK.

While serving as a senator on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Boozman purchased or sold shares of three energy and power companies. He also traded stock in Honeywell International Inc HON, an industrial multinational that was one of many organizations that submitted written evidence to the committee in the spring of 2020 regarding manufacturing laws.

Mo Brooks
Representative, R-ALA.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee in 2019, Brooks disclosed a transaction of $1,000 to $15,000 in shares of the defense contractor General Dynamics Corporation GD.

Michael C. Burgess
Representative, R-TEXAS

Nine transactions recorded by Burgess from accounts owned by himself and his wife included companies with subsidiaries that crossed those of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittees, of which he was a member.

Richard M. Burr
Senator, R-N.C.

While Burr served on the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, as well as the Subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Finance Committee, he and his wife traded shares of healthcare and energy corporations.

Cheri Bustos
Representative, D-ILL

While serving on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense, Bustos bought and sold shares in L3Harris Technologies Inc LHX, an aerospace and defense contractor, in 2019 and 2020.

Shelley Moore Capito
Senator, R-W.VA.

Capito sold Carrier Global Corp CARR stock in the latter part of 2020, some nine months after the company had written to the Environment and Public Works Committee, of which she was a member, urging it to support a manufacturing bill.

Thomas R. Carper
Senator, D-DEL.

Carper is one of the Senate's most active filers, and his disclosures include trades made by his wife. While Carper was the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, his wife sold and acquired stock in Marathon Oil Corp MRO and BP plc BP, among other oil and gas corporations.

Rick W. Allen
Representative, R-GA.

While serving on a subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee that was debating legislation to control the price of prescription drugs, Allen disclosed investments in the pharmaceutical firms Merck & Co MRK and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.

Cindy Axne
Representative, D-IOWA

While the House Financial Services Committee, of which she was a member, looked into the bank for bogus accounts and other wrongdoings, Axne and her husband disclosed four purchases of Wells Fargo & Co WFC stock.

Donald S. Beyer Jr.
Representative D-VA.

Beyer and his spouse bought and sold shares of Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG and Microsoft Corporation MSFT while he served on the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, and were among the companies discussed in hearings concerning internet disinformation and election security,

Gus Bilirakis
Representative, R-FLA.

While he was a member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Bilirakis revealed that one of his children sold $1,000 to $15,000 worth of Merck & Co stock in October 2021.

Earl Blumenauer
Representative, D-ORE.

Blumenauer's wife purchased or sold stocks and bonds in a number of healthcare organizations, including UnitedHealth Group UNH and CVS Health. Both businesses provide Medicare Advantage packages. Blumenauer participated on the health subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Medicare.

Richard Blumenthal
Senator, D-CONN.

While Blumenthal served on a Senate Commerce Subcommittee that covered communications, media and broadband, a family trust purchased shares of a wireless communications site owner for $1.5 million to $3.1 million. Blumenthal's wife is a beneficiary of this trust.

Roy Blunt
Senator, R-MO.

In one 2021 transaction, Blunt's wife sold $15,000 to $50,000 worth of Philip Morris International Inc PM stock, while Blunt served on a committee that oversaw product safety.

Blunt was not seeking reelection today.

Read Next: Control Of Congress Up For Grabs In Midterms: 12 Stocks To Watch

The list was compiled with data provided by Unusual Whales and the New York Times.

Photo: LenaSunagatova via Shutterstock

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Posted In: GovernmentNewsRegulationsPoliticsSmall CapTop StoriesMarketsTrading IdeasGeneral2022 midtermsCongresselectionelectionsNancy PelosiPoliticians Trading StocksUnusual Whales
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