Goldman Sachs trims donations to Democrats, but still hedges

WASHINGTON -- Goldman Sachs executives are pulling campaign cash away from congressional Democrats in the wake of their crackdown on Wall Street, and are now hedging their bets in the upcoming election, according to a Post analysis.

During the last election cycle, 64 percent of Goldman's PAC contributions went to Democrats.

Now, the cash split is an even 50-50, according to campaign data.

"They're reading the writing on the wall," said one House Democratic aide.

Goldman, which just settled a lawsuit with the feds for $550 million, is also snubbing a key Democratic Party election arm.

The firm gave $30,000 each to the top Republican campaign committees in Congress, and the same amount to Senate Democrats -- but gave House Democrats only half as much.

The $15,000 contribution represented just half the amount the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee got in 2008.

The House crafted a more stringent bill to regulate Wall Street, prompting some execs to warn lawmakers that they would withhold cash from the party's campaign committee and give only to favored Democrats.