Hillary Clinton is Ahead in the Wal-Mart Election

It hasn’t been a great week for Wal-Mart, what with having to back down from its demand that the family of brain-damaged former employee Debbie Shank reimburse the company’s health plan for her medical treatment.

Yet in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott indicated that in a wider sense the company is doing well:

Mr Scott expressed satisfaction that in spite of the union campaign, Wal-Mart’s record had not become an issue in the Democratic primaries. Hillary Clinton served on Wal-Mart’s board from 1986 to 1992 when her husband was governor of Arkansas, the retailer’s home state.

It’s easy to forget it was once thought that this presidential race would focus on the impact of Wal-Mart on the economy and the labor market. In January 2007 a columnist for U.S. News wrote: “The ginormous retailer is sure to be a frequent target for Democrats during the 2008 presidential election.” Barack Obama made an issue of Clinton’s tenure on the Wal-Mart board during a debate in January but has not had much to say about the company since John Edwards left the race. Clinton, far from attacking Wal-Mart, has had to contend with investigations, such as one done by ABC News in late January, showing that during her time as a director she remained silent about the company’s assaults on union organizing drives. Clinton responded by saying her views had changed and that she is now a strong supporter of unions.

Despite this professed change of heart about the Wal-Mart philosophy of labor relations, it appears that Clinton is the favorite presidential candidate among those working at the company. A search of individual campaign contribution data on the Open Secrets website shows that Wal-Mart executives and other employees have contributed far more to Clinton— $22,000—during the current election cycle than to John McCain or Obama, each of whom has received $3,700. (Note that only those contributing $200 or more have to list an employer. The totals were derived by searching both “Wal-Mart” and “Walmart” in the employer field.)

The Wal-Mart contributions are a minuscule portion of the more than $160 million Clinton has raised, but it is notable that among those giving their individual maximums to the New York Senator are two of Wal-Mart’s executive vice presidents—Thomas Hyde and PR guru Leslie Dach. Either they know something we don’t about Clinton’s current views, or this, like the company’s previous hard line in the Debbie Shank case, is an example of how Wal-Mart executives are often thick-headed about what is really in the company’s best interests.