The Co-Op Campaign: River House

Since it was built in 1931, River House, the swank and secluded Art Deco palace behind wrought-iron gates at the dead end of East 52nd Street, has topped the short list of exclusive (and very expensive) co-ops along the East River waterfront. Home to Henry Kissinger (and Pete Peterson until recently), the building boasts three 20 million+ listings at the moment, including a large tower duplex owned by real estate mogul Francesco Galesi, which was boldly listed for $50 million almost three years ago but has since come down to $35 million. (Other apartments for sale include Laura Pels' terraced third-floor unit for $29 million, and the opulent maisonette of Chicago producer Marty Richards.) Naturally, it's also home to a long list of heavy-hitting political donors. After the jump, a list of what some River House residents have done with their cash in this year's battle for the White House.

Alexander Navab, Jr.
A partner at Henry Kravis's KKR, Navab and his wife, Mary Norman-Navab, each donated $2,300 to McCain in January. In June, they each donated $28,500 to McCain Victory 2008, a group set up jointly by the McCain campaign and the Republican Party.

Mimi Prentice
The elderly widow of Spelman Prentice, an oilman and grandson of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Mimi donated $2,300 to McCain in May.

Alan Meckler
The chief executive of Jupitermedia and a longtime Internet entrepreneur, Meckler donated a total of $2,000 to McCain in December 2007 and January 2008.

Edmund Hajim
An investment banker who chairs the board at the University of Rochester, Hajim donated a total of $1,800 to McCain between March and June of this year.

Jacques Nordeman
The founder of the executive search firm Nordeman Grimm, his wife, Anne, is co-director of admissions at St. Bernard's School, the private school on East 98th Street. Nordeman donated $1,000 to McCain in January.

William McCormick Blair, Jr.
A nonagenarian who served as ambassador to Denmark and the Philippines during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Blair donated $2,300 to Obama in March 2007. His socialite/investor wife Deeda donated a total of $3,300 to Obama from March 2007 through June 2008. The Blairs were prominent in Washington, D.C., society before moving to New York several years ago.

Peter Georgescu
The chairman emeritus of Young & Rubicam and CEO from 1994 to 2000, Georgescu made tens of millions when the advertising agency went public in 1998. Between June and September 2007, he and his wife Barbara each donated a total of $2,300 to Obama.

Heath McLendon
Now retired from Citigroup after a long career on Wall Street, McLendon donated a total of $2,300 to Obama between June 2007 and last March. His wife Judith donated $1,500 in June 2007.

Susan Baker
Baker is a former Goldman Sachs exec and the current chair of the New York City Opera. (Her husband, Michael Lynch, is a former Goldman partner who now works at GSC Partners.) Baker donated $2,300 to Obama in March.

Mildred Glimcher
The wife of Arne Glimcher, the powerful proprietor of the blue-chip PaceWildenstein Gallery, Mildred donated $2,300 to Obama in June.

Jeffrey Leeds
A one-time Marshall Scholar who presides over the private equity firm Leeds Equity Partners (and a partner of former Republican Massachusetts governor William Weld) Leeds donated $2,300 to Obama in May.

Nancy Lieberman
A partner at Skadden Arps, Lieberman donated a total of $2,300 to Obama between May and December 2007. She is married to Mark Ellman, the founder of Celestial Capital Group, which invests in office and retail property upstate and in Connecticut.

Laura Pels
The theatrical producer is divorced from Donald Pels, who made a mint when his Lin Broadcasting was acquired by McCaw Cellular in 1991. Pels donated $2,300 to Obama in May 2007, although many of her other political donations have been to the Republican National Committee.

Leslie Bains
The vice chairman of Modern Bank and the chief executive of Modern Asset Management, Bains donated a total of $2,250 to Obama between July 2007 and April 2008. In her previous job at HSBC North America, she was that company's highest-ranking woman.

George F. "Jeff" Little, II
Tthe co-president of George Little Management, the country's largest producer of trade shows for consumer products, Little donated a total of $700 to Obama in April and May. The British firm DMG World Media acquired a majority interest in GLM for $155 million last year.

Joanne Troy
The octogenarian wife of William B. Troy, who owns Cascade Linen Supply, the Brooklyn firm that keeps many of the city's restaurants in fresh napkins and tablecloths, Joanne donated $400 to Obama in June.

Carroll L. Cartwright
A somewhat obscure man who has been described as a "community activist," Cartwright donated $250 to Obama in June. In the 1940s, he served as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Over the years, he and his wife Constance have made several gifts of Southeast Asian art to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Mrs. Cartwright's father was George Bauerdorf, an oilman who died in 1961; her sister was Georgette Bauerdorf, whose sensational murder in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, in 1944 has never been solved.

Andrew Heaney & Leslie Bathgate Heaney
Leslie donated $2,300 to McCain from March 2007 through March 2008. (Her father, attorney and financier Lawrence E. Bathgate II, is a prominent Republican fundraiser in New Jersey who was finance chairman of the Republican National Committee between 1987 and 1992.) Her heating oil magnate husband, Andrew, donated $2,300 to both McCain and Obama.