Hedge funds and buyout funds appear to be bucking the trend of contributing campaign cash to Republicans, and are overwhelming giving to Democrat candidates. According to Federal Election Commission records cited by Bloomberg News, staffs of the 100 biggest hedge funds and 50 largest buyout firms donated more than $5 million of $7.4 million in donations to Democrats, more than two-thirds of the total. More than half of that amount – $2.8 million – went to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The move to the Democrats, according to Bloomberg News, seems to reflect a desire to go with a perceived winner; after 12 years of Republican domination, observers see the Dems as having a good change to retake Congress. The alternative investors are at odds with campaign giving in the financial industry in general; according to PoliticalMoneyLine, 64% of the $34.8 million raised by political action committees in the financial industry has gone to Republican candidates. Some speculate that PAC/HF split is due to the fact that political action committees tend to favor incumbents, while hedgies perceive the trends toward the Democrats and jump early on the bandwagon.