Kerry courts business leaders, but Bush gets their donations.

SEN. John Kerry said he's reaching out to business, but as the presidential campaign begins to heat up, the numbers point in President Bush's direction.

Only 52 chief executives from Russell 1000 companies have expressed support for Kerry, while 280 are supporting Bush, according to a study last month by PoliticalMoneyLine, a non-partisan group based in Washington.

Bush has received campaign contributions from 17 of the CEOs of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies and nine of the 10 U.S. companies ranked by market capitalization. Kerry has received the support of one: Citigroup Inc.'s Charles Prince.

Pfizer Inc. CEO Hank McKinnell and American International Group Inc. CEO Maurice Greenberg each have raised at least $200,000 for Bush. Other CEOs from the Top 10 U.S. companies who have given to Bush include Microsoft Corp.'s Steven Ballmer, General Electric Co.'s Jeffrey Immelt, Johnson & Johnson's William Weldon, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s H. Lee Scott and Bank of America Corp.'s Kenneth Lewis.

"I don't see enough out there to vote against Bush," said Joe Moglia, chief executive of Omaha, Neb.-based Ameritrade Holdings Inc., the biggest discount brokerage by trading volume. "I think it's better for the markets."

Among the CEOs who have endorsed Kerry are Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Warren Buffett, Apple Computer Inc.'s Steve Jobs and Google Inc.'s Eric Schmidt.

Both Kerry and Bush have broken fundraising records this year by turning to smaller donors, often via the Internet and direct mail campaigns. The average donation to Kerry's campaign last month was $71, from 195,000 contributions. Bush's average was $58, from 83,099 contributors.

Kerry has raised about $185 million since last year, more than any previous Democratic presidential candidate. Bush has raised about $230 million.

None of the CEOs of the top Wall Street banks have endorsed Kerry this year--a contrast to 1992 when President Bill Clinton won the endorsement of the top executives at three Wall Street investment banks: Robert Rubin at Goldman Sachs; Archibald Cox Jr. at First Boston Corp. and Richard Fisher at Morgan Stanley. In the past year, the CEOs of those three companies have each raised at least $100,000 for Bush and none have given to Kerry

The slate of the economy may have played a role in building support lot Clinton among business leaders. In the four years leading tip to 1991, when George H.W. Bush was president, the federal budget deficit rose 73 percent to $269.4 billion. The unemployment rate peaked at 7.8 percent in June 1992, rising from 5.3 percent in December 1988.

The support for each candidate is often predicated by issue.

Kerry's business advisers say his plan to pay for three-fourths of company health care bills when employees incur so-called catastrophic costs of over $50,0(X) will help lower insurance premiums by up to 10 percent.

At the same time, the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports the Bush administration's effort to limit class action lawsuit awards as a way to curb increasing health insurance costs. Kerry, and his choice for vice president, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, a former personal injury lawyer, should create "a great deal of concern and anxiety" for the business community, said William Miller, political director at the Chamber.

One Democratic Party supporter, Thomas Castro, president of Border Media Partners LLC in Houston, said he isn't surprised Bush is leading in support from CEOs.

"Republicans organized CEOs first because that's their natural constituency," said Castro, whose company owns 16 Spanish-language radio stations and has 140 employees. "It's easy to win people's affection when you're giving away money left and right. But thoughtful business people realize the tax cuts have to be paid for by somebody."