More military workers giving to Democrats

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. military personnel have shifted more of their campaign donations from Republicans to Democrats in the 2008 presidential and congressional races.

The shift suggests "those who wear the uniform want change," said Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

In 2002, Democrats received 23 percent of contributions from military workers and Republicans got 77 percent. So far this year, 40 percent of the donations have gone to Democrats running for Congress and president, while 59 percent have gone to Republicans, said a study by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

The center tallied donations from people who list the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy and National Guard as their employer, USA Today reported Saturday.

In 2004, military personnel contributed $1.2 million to presidential and congressional candidates, the center said. So far this year, those donations are about $200,000.

Bruce Altschuler, a political scientist at the State University of New York at Oswego, cautioned against reading too much into the contributions. "These figures could look very different in a few months."