Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is planning to direct $20 million to an outside group backing Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign, multiple sources told POLITICO – the first answer to urgent pleas from allies to the former speaker’s longtime billionaire supporters.
After leaving Congress, Gingrich cultivated a network of a few dozen über-wealthy backers who poured tens of millions of dollars into a network of groups that helped him maintain a foothold in politics. Now, operatives supporting his presidential campaign are asking those same donors to write fat checks to a suite of new super PACs they hope can spend big on ads to offset Gingrich campaign fundraising that had lagged behind his rivals’.
Adelson is considered the prized get for pro-Gingrich groups.
Adelson spokesman Ron Reese denied the $20 million commitment, saying “there’s no truth to any speculation that Mr. Adelson has made a commitment to either contribute or raise this amount of money.”
Reese declined to comment on potential future political giving by Adelson on behalf of Gingrich or in general, saying Adelson doesn’t talk about his political activities. Many major donors prefer to keep their activity low-profile, though federal rules require super PACs to disclose their donors in the coming weeks.
Sources with direct knowledge of the $20 million figure, who requested anonymity, told POLITICO that Adelson planned to cut a check to one of the PACs as soon as this week.
A major contribution from Adelson would enable the recipient group to start airing ads in Iowa to counter a weeklong anti-Gingrich on-air assault that is already taking a toll on his front-runner status in the Hawkeye State, according to private and public polling.
Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson each contributed the $2,500 maximum to Gingrich’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in August. But there weren’t many options for them and other wealthy donors looking to give more to help Gingrich through the summer, when his campaign was on life support.
That changed as Gingrich’s campaign started surging last month, prompting his allies to create new outside groups known as super PACs that can accept unlimited funds to air ads supporting him.
(Source: Politico)
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5 Responses
Though as Newt (and Cain before he dropped out for unrelated reasons) demonstrates, and much to Romney’s and Perry’s consternation, money isn’t all that critical. You need to be sufficiently known to have chance, but beyond that, more and more money isn’t important. Remember the famous joke that if money determined the presidency, Nelson Rockefeller would have been the greatest president of the 20th century.
Sheldon Adelson has an interesting biography. He certainly is a major philanthropist and has funded birthright among other Israeli causes; he also seems to fund a free right wing Israeli newspaper (his wife is Israeli). He is said to be the 16th wealthiest person in the country, (in material wealth, of course)and a strong supporter of Netanyahu.
He gives to some ehrlich as well. Chabad has been on the receiving end of his wealth
A very wise politician once said that 85% of a capaign is a total waste of time. The trick is to find out what constitutes thgood 15%.
Based on that it seems that a
lot of money is wasted that could be doing so moch goos elsewhere.
Wouldn’t it be great if the media were so focused on Obama and where his money is coming from? Perhaps they would link the fact that porkulus went to pay off the unions so their people stayed employed. More union workers, especially the unions that benefited from porkulus & son of porkulus, means more money being donated by the union leaders into the obama coffers.
Focus on Obama & you will see he’s EVIL.