Using data filed with the Federal Election Commission, Adam Bonica at Ideological Cartography has charted patterns that claim to show where certain occupations fall within the left-right political dynamic. Campaign donations of $250 or greater require a filing with the FEC that includes asking the donor’s employment, and using this information, Bonica has determined people in the oil and gas business and car salesmen tend to be more conservative, while Hollywood types and academics are more liberal. Falling in the middle is a wide range of other occupations. Those employed in some industries, such as investment banking, health care and lobbying, tend to contribute to whichever party they think will win, and so leaned Democratic in the 2008 election.